The Haunt Continues
by kikifan21
Summary: Just some drabbles and one shots and maybe some multi shots. Some NaruMai fluff mixed in with other characters and snippets of future cases. Most will take place after Naru and Mai are married. If you've read Dangerous Souls you'll like this! Rated M just to be safe. Enjoy! 30-Scream- With two kids at home, Oliver never knows what to expect when he walks in the door
1. Mother-in-Law

**Well, I had this little snippet written about a month ago and I just reread it and I couldn't help but squeal from the cuteness I created! I've sort of planned to make this a little while ago, a fic with scenes from the lives of Naru and Mai after marriage and kids and some other SPR members will be thrown in here too.**

 **This chapter is something I came up with when I did a writing prompt challenge and a lot ended up being ghost hunt related. Mai and Naru are** **visiting Naru's parents in England and brought along their toddler son. Luella wants some time with her grandson and give Naru and Mai a few ideas on how to pass their free time. Enjoy!**

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1-Mother-In-Law

"Gene, don't pull on Mama's hair!" Mai groaned, knowing that her almost two-year-old son was not one to listen when he was having a grand old time with whatever he was doing. Today, he seemed to enjoy tangling his chubby fingers in his mother's short hair. "Okay, Gene, why don't you go to Papa?" She handed the boy to her husband.

Luckily, after Mai had their little bundle of joy, Naru learned how to hold a child and not look so awkward. Well, now it wasn't his fault he looked awkward, not much you can do when your son decides he wants to pull at your ears and nose, maybe shove a finger in one of them. "I'd say he needs a nap, but he seems too hyper to need that."

"He did take a nap, not a long one, just under an hour. Probably still not used to the time difference," his wife replied, smoothing out her hair.

"Okay, I have the stroller outside ready to go! And the car seat in the back seat! Time for Gene and Grangran time!" Luella said, excitedly as she walked into the room. She had pulled her hair back into a bun and removed her earrings. Someone was prepared.

"Luella, where are you taking us?" Mai asked, raising a brow as her mother-in-law took her grandson from her son's arms.

"I'm not taking you anywhere." She flashed a grin and proceeded to making silly faces at her grandson.

"Mother-"

"You two are still exhausted from your plane ride on top of dealing with this little one." She put the little boy on the ground and he still held onto two of her fingers, knowing they were about to go outside and he had to stay close. "Martin will be at the office until supper and I need to run some errands and pick up some things for dinner. I figured I can take Gene with me and we can go to the park, if he gets tired he can nap in the stroller. I have the diaper bag in the car as well."

"Luella-"

"No buts." Despite none were spoken. "You two have the house to yourselves. Take a nap. Get some work that I _know_ Noll brought with you. Give me another grandkid. Whatever you like doing, you have the whole afternoon!"

Mai's eyes widened and she felt her husband tense up next to her, it was everything she had to not stand there with her mouth wide open.

"See you tonight!" Luella called, pulling Gene along with her. They walked right out the door, leaving the couple in shock.

"Your mother…" Mai blinked unable to finish her thought.

"I know."

She looked up at him, his face unreadable as usual. "Just told us…"

"I know."

"What are-" She didn't finish as her husband moved quicker than she had ever seen. He scooped her up into his arms and headed for the stairs. "What are you doing?"

"Following orders."

"Soldier Naru?"

"I prefer Colonel."

"Am I your Lieutenant?"

"Someone's catching on."

"Shut up."

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Mai let out a deep satisfied breath as she nestled on her husband's chest, one of her legs draped over one of his. The two of them had been so busy with work and with Gene, it was a rare moment when they could enjoy each other. Naru's arm had been snaked under her shoulders and wrapped around her to hold her to his chest. Both of them could use a nap.

"I still can't believe it…" Mai muttered sleepily.

"You're still on that?" He looked down at her with a raised brow.

"We just made love in your parents' house."

"Not the first time, Mai."

"It's the first time your mother told us to do it." She snuggled closer to him, keeping her head down to not show him her blush.

But he already knew. He could feel the heat radiating off of her cheeks onto his chest. He smirked and tightened his grip on her. "Trust me, it unsettles me too."

"And you just accepted it and went with it?"

"Just following orders, same as you, Lieutenant."

"I'm going to regret making that comment earlier." Mai rolled her eyes and finally looked up at him. "What time is it?"

Naru looked at the clock in the room. "Only three, we can take a nap before Luella gets back."

But Mai knew there was something else he's rather be doing. And she was willing to forgo sleep to enjoy the moment. She gave a wicked grin and snuck her arm under the blanket. Her light touch caused the man to flinch in surprise. She leaned up and kissed him passionately, he returned the favor and stroked her hair.

Catching her off guard, Naru flipped them both over so he was on top of her. "Luella will be disappointed when we go home and you're not pregnant," he mused, caressing her breast with one hand and touching her most private place with the other.

She gave a soft moan of pleasure. "I don't think either of us are ready for another Gene just yet." She pulled him down for another kiss and melted into the pleasure he gave her.

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 **Well, there you have it! Hopefully, this will tie over anyone who is waiting on my Dangerous Souls fic to be updated. Yes, I plan on Naru and Mai to get together. Yes I plan on lots of cute fluff. If you haven't read my other fic I suggest you do it's five years in the making and these mini stories will be the in the same timeline as what happens in that fic. I hope you enjoyed and I have many more coming!**


	2. Never Had a Chance

**So here's chapter two. This one isn't about Naru and Mai, not really. But I got this idea when I was reading another fic today and I had been thinking of it for a while, but I thought I should write a little something from the perspective of one of the** **other characters. This is a little sad, so I apologize. Also if you haven't read my other Ghost Hunt fic, please do, this fic is in the same "world". Enjoy!**

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2-Never Had A Chance

She knew she never had a chance. She knew it from the moment he would only call _her_ by her first name. Still she had something that this _nobody_ didn't. Information. She knew things. But somehow that advantage became a curse.

Sure, she knew the reason why Takigawa Houshou was no longer on Mt Koya before anyone else on the team did. She also knew that Matsuzaki Ayako was only a self-proclaimed priestess with virtually no training. She knew that John Brown's ability to perform exorcisms at such a young age and without Vatican approval was an anomaly. She knew that their newest recruit had been in love with a former classmate even before she met her. She also knew Mai's family life was strange to be able to have a job hunting ghosts and be away for days at a time. She may not have realized that she was an orphan until she said it, but it wasn't a surprise. It made complete and utter sense.

All of that information she had gained from intuition or the spirits around her would tell her. However, the reason she knew who Shibuya Kazuya really was, wasn't because of a spirit. No, she had seen one of his demonstrations. She was the only one on the team to know that they were working with the real live Oliver Davis. He was even more handsome up close. And so stoic and mysterious, it was hard not to be infatuated with the young man.

She confronted him in private about his identity, hoping to find out a reason for his charade. When he did not answer her questions to her liking and told her to keep the conversation between them, she was devastated. What she did next was devious and childish, but at the moment she didn't care. She didn't care because there was a sense of hope.

She hoped that maybe, just maybe, he just needed some time with her. Time to see who she really was. Time for them to get to know each other and fall for each other. He would come around. He had to. There was no way he could ever hate her. She just had a secret of his to keep and in return they got to spend quite a few evenings together for dinner and movies and the like.

It took almost a year for her to realize that her plan had backfired. She was blackmailing him, plain and simple. He had absolutely every reason to hate her. She wished she never had seen that damn demonstration!

But he still risked himself and the team to find her in the prime minister's mansion. He even carried her comb. He had to be worried, right?

Turned out that he was using psychometry to help find her. Perhaps that why she saw him in Urado's lair. Maybe he was really trying to comfort her because he cared about her. Or maybe she was just seeing Gene's spirit. The man was smiling. The only time Oliver Davis seemed to smile was to Mai.

Then Mai got a boyfriend several months later. It was her chance! Naru seemed to be fine with his assistant having a boyfriend, he must not have cared about her like she had thought. She tried inviting him to go ice skating with the rest of the crew, but he declined. She sat in the food court more than a bit bitter about it. Ayako tried to make her feel better, but she couldn't seem to find it in herself to be happy about anything. It was then that she realized that Naru felt nothing for her. That he still had some sort of fondness of Mai.

She hated her for it. Damn, did she hate her. She was so stupid and naïve and apparently had psychic abilities, too? How did she manage to get a job working alongside one of the most gorgeous men in the world? Even after working for him for over a year, she was still just as stupid as she was when she started. Yet he fell for her? Naru could do so much better!

If only she actually believed any of it.

Truth was, Masako never hated Mai. She was jealous of her, that's for sure. Yet she never hated the girl. Sure, she was naïve, and stupid about the paranormal compared to the medium, but Mai had never dealt with a ghost more than telling a story about one. And she did have psychic abilities, several types to be exact. For a time, she seemed to grow stronger and stronger with them, while Masako seemed to just grow weaker.

But Masako wasn't growing weaker, she was just staying the same. She didn't like that outcome either, to be honest.

Mai was also very smart. She ended up graduating at almost top of her class. Masako could say she hated the girl because she was annoying. But that wasn't it.

The point was, she never hated her. In fact, she hated herself for trying to hate her. Aside from teasing and joking around and maybe a jab here or there about the manager of SPR, Mai had been nothing but kind to her. Even told her the truth about her being possessed when Ayako and Monk were trying to trick her.

She realized that Naru deserved the best. And the best was Mai. It hurt. It hurt so much, but she was willing to try to move on.

Sure enough, years went by and Naru and Mai finally got together. Masako had even found a boyfriend. But it still hurt to see the two together. She was ashamed of herself for feeling that way.

It wasn't that she didn't like her boyfriend, quite the opposite. He was studying to be a lawyer, so he didn't really know or understand too much about the paranormal. Which was just fine, Masako was happy to have a normal conversation once in a while. The problem was, even after a few years of accepting that Naru wanted nothing to do with her, it still hurt to see that she had lost.

She lost the boy. That wasn't how it went in the movies. Not for the lead, anyway. That was the problem with movies and books and shows. They only show the winning side. Because of this, Masako felt that she wasn't the hero of her story, but the antagonist of Mai's.

It was true, she realized. She never stood a chance.

She might have known more about the man, than this high schooler did, but she could never get under his skin. Not in the way Mai did that always seemed to amuse him.

She never had a chance. And for that, she hated herself.

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 **Poor Masako. I hated her in the beginning, but I am honestly starting to adore her. I hope this isn't too Ooc for anyone. But this fic does take place primarily when SPR is in their 20s so a lot has changed. I have some of the change happen in Dangerous Souls so check that out. Hope you enjoyed! Please review!**


	3. Something to Lose

**So this is a dark one. It is partly inspired because I had a very odd dream about a demon and because I wanted to toy around with Naru being scared. This is very dark and descriptive so if you're squeamish you probably don't want to read. But anyway, enjoy!**

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3-Something to Lose

 _The scene before him was horrifying enough. He was in the ballroom of the hotel he was investigating. Blood was splattered on the walls. The stench made his nose burn. He knew it wasn't real. It was a vision that was supposed to scare him. Oliver Davis did not scare easily._

 _An ominous laugh sounded, echoing off of the walls, yet he remained unfazed. "Well, Dr. Davis?" the voice growled in a deep demonic tone. "How does it feel to have something to lose?"_

 _Lights came on and he could finally see the source of all the blood. The distorted bodies of his team were strewn about on the floor. Still he kept his composure. If he fell for this ruse, that would mean he let the demon win. He couldn't do that. Little did he know, the scene wasn't finished._

 _Still he counted the bodies before him. Monk. Yasuhara. Lin. John. Masako. Madoka. Everyone he had brought with him for this case were accounted for. And dead. They were all dead. He couldn't let it get to him. Couldn't let the demon's words get to him. But he couldn't focus on anything else, lest the demon would gain more ammo._

 _"Don't think I don't know about her." Oliver could feel the being place a taloned hand on his shoulder. Its rancid breath watering his eyes. "It's sweet, really. You kept her from me to protect her. You called her only when you were away from the property. You were so careful to keep her out of this. Even went as far as to make sure she didn't do any research."_

 _It took everything he had to keep his composure and keep his breathing and heart rate even. He knew what was for certain. Mai was safe in Tokyo-_

 _And he fell for the demon's trap. He internally cursed himself as he heard the satisfied chuckle from the vile being. "She should be safe, right?" It walked in front of Oliver. It looked so amused with it's sinister grin of razor sharp teeth and hollowed out eye sockets. It was covered in gray scaly skin and was a good deal taller than his own longtime friend and assistant, Lin. Still, Oliver didn't allow his fear to be shown._

 _"She should be safe in Tokyo. Sleeping alone in your bed. Well, alone with your soon to be child, right?"_

 _Was he reading the man's mind? No. Surely someone on the team mentioned her. It just wanted to get into his head. Fool him into letting it take control. He couldn't succumb to that._

 _The sinister grin turned into a wicked one and its laugh boomed against the walls. It stepped out of Oliver's way and revealed an even more terrifying scene. If anything could break the man, it would be this._

 _There she was. Strapped against the wall. Her eyes glazed over in death. She was naked with her abdomen cut open and their unborn child nailed to the wall beside her. The umbilical cord still connecting them._

 _He wasn't sure what held him back from running to her. What held him back from the rage that swelled in his chest. Was it his own doing? Or maybe the demon just wanted him to feel even more helpless and detached from the situation?_

 _Regardless, the being laughed a laugh so evil, so disturbing, so malicious, it sent chills down Oliver's spine. He managed to turn his head just enough to see the utter joy on its face as he said, "Congratulations, Dr. Davis! It's a boy!"_

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3:02 A.M.

He shot up in his bead covered in sweat. His breath came out harsh and quick as his heart threatened to burst from his chest. He had to know if she was okay. He didn't even look at the time. He stood up and grabbed his cell phone. He sat down in the chair by the window and dialed her number.

He held his breath as he waited. He knew she would be asleep. He also knew that neither of them slept well when one of them was away. He was about to give up when a sleepy voice finally answered. _"Moshi moshi?"_ He could hear a yawn being stifled.

"I'm sorry to wake you," he said, letting out such a relieved breath. At least she didn't seem to have had the same dream. He was silently grateful that she didn't have to live that terror.

 _"Naru? It's three in the morning."_ That's seemed to wake her up a little. _"Is everything okay? What's wrong? What happened? Is everyone okay? Are you okay?"_

That was just like her. She was more worried about _why_ he called her at three in the morning than the fact that he actually did it. But he didn't want to worry her further, so he rubbed his face and looked at the clock. "So it is," he said, knowing he was about to lie to her. It was more important that she got some sleep than her knowing about what happened in his dream. He wasn't sure he would ever tell her. "I'm sorry, I just left Base. I didn't realize what time it was."

He heard her yawn and hoped she bought it. _"I know that's a load of crap, Oliver."_ She yawned again. _"But you need to sleep and so do I. Call me in the morning when you get a chance. Ayako is taking me to my appointment at nine so I should be back home around ten or so. Call me then and tell me everything."_

He unknowingly smiled. They had been married almost two years and she had gotten good at reading him even when she couldn't see his face. "Sounds good, I just wanted to hear your voice, but I'll talk to you tomorrow."

He heard her laugh softly. _"I think that's the sweetest yet cheesiest thing I've ever heard you say. Now go to sleep, you sound like you need it."_

"Good night, I love you."

 _"I love you, too, Naru."_

Oliver heard the click of their call disconnecting and still held the phone to his ear. He had forgotten that she had an appointment the following day. At her last one they were unable to tell what gender their baby was from its position on the ultrasound. That's what she was going to find out and he was going to miss it.

He put the phone down on the table and felt the tears fall down his face. Not because he was going to miss the appointment. Not because he wasn't going to be there for his wife. But because he already knew what it was.

He couldn't tell you how he knew for sure, but he did. He knew that the demon was right. Mai was pregnant with their son and Oliver was going to make sure that the demon would never make that vision a reality.

The case would be closed later that day, he would make sure of it. And that night, he would be home with her and would be able to put that horror behind him. He still wasn't sure he would willingly tell her what happened that woke him up to call her at three in the morning. But he did know he would tell her.

He would just wait until he was home safe. Wait until after he held her for a moment. Wait until after she tells him they are having a boy. Because even Oliver Davis needed a little happiness in his life. The demon was right, he had something to lose. He had a lot to lose.

It was cases like this that made him question his profession.

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 **Probably a little OOC but the man's married with a baby on the way. And I think anyone would act a little out of character after seeing what he saw. I really don't know what I was thinking but this kind of just happened today. Hope you enjoyed and please review!**


	4. Calm

**Okay this was another writing prompt that I did a while ago that turned out to be Ghost Hunt related. I have a lot of them, but most seem to have either spoilers for Dangerous Souls (by spoilers I mean mentioning of scenes that haven't been posted yet) or are scenes for Dangerous Souls that I haven't gotten to that part yet to include them in a chapter. Luckily this one fits neither of those scenarios! And it's lighter than the last chapter. Hope you enjoy!**

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4-Calm

"Ayami, I need you to stay calm," Mai urged, pushing the taller teenager behind her. "Don't make any sudden movements."

Before them, having gotten locked in the cellar of the hotel they were investigating, an ominous violet glow illuminated the room just after the lights were shut off. The temperature dropped in the room and the static in the air made the hair on the back of the trained investigator's neck stand on end. It had the same effect with the hair on the younger girl's arms. Mai had come to know that this didn't necessarily make the spirit a dangerous one. No, it was absolutely possible that they had a powerful spirit that wasn't sure how else to manifest to ask for help. Of course, those situations weren't exactly common, but not rare either.

"Mai, I'm scared," the girl whispered, but it was a mere squeak. Mai wrapped her arm behind herself to grab Ayami's hand, a gesture that had brought herself comfort when she was stuck in a manhole with a malevolent spirit, and her boss. Now her husband.

She briefly gave a mental remark about how far she had come in the last decade. She was running a company with her husband and helping those who dealt with issues of the paranormal variety. She made several trips around the world, visiting her in-laws in England as well as investigating haunted locations around the world. Having grown up an orphan supporting herself, the culture shock was a little difficult to get used to. She was grateful that her husband never let the money get to his head, in fact he seemed to act as though he'd rather go without it. She admired that about him.

She mentally shook her head and concentrated on the situation in hand. Ayami was their latest intern and happened to be one of Mai's first clients when she joined SPR. Ayami was nine at the time and now that she was of legal age, she had an interest in the paranormal thanks to what she faces as a child, she applied to become an investigator. And there, she had become Mai's first official pupil.

Now here they were, Ayami's second investigation with the team and their phones were dead, so were the camera and walkie-talkies. Until someone in Base noticed the camera out of commission they were on their own. Now, they had some spirit manifesting in front of them.

Mai drew a breath and held it for a second. She let it out slowly, trying to slow her quickening heart, something she had gotten accustomed to after years of investigating. She could feel Ayami trembling behind her, which didn't help in trying to keep herself calm. The glow had manifested into the shape of a young boy. He had dark hair and holes for eyes.

 _I can never catch a break_ , Mai thought with a mental eye roll. The spirit in front of them grinned sadistically and crimson liquid oozed down his chin. More liquid followed from his eyes. Ayami tensed and Mai knew she was holding her breath.

Mai kept her eyes on the being in front of her, she couldn't take her eyes off of it. At the moment it was benign, it hadn't moved an inch, but she knew that if she took her eyes off of him for even a second, the situation could change drastically. With another deep breath, she raised too fingers and swiped horizontally.

"Rin, pyou, tou, shah, kai, jin, retsu, zai, zen!" With a wicked grin the ghost boy disappeared, leaving the girls in the dark, but not quite alone.

"It's only a matter of time," the ominous voice said. But it wasn't just one voice, it was several jumbled up together, making it all the more creepy.

"Mai! Ayami!" Voices could be heard from the direction of the cellar door. Mai knew those voices all too well. She seemed to always get into these situations as a teen, not much had changed in her twenties.

"We're in here! The door's locked and the lights are out, otherwise we'd help!" Mai called, finally able to take her eyes off of where that boy stood. Ayami's trembling had turned to full blown shaking as she fell to the ground. Mai turned around and knelt to the girl, just barely able to make out her silhouette in the darkness. "Ayami, are you okay?"

She hadn't fainted, which was good, she was just so shocked her legs gave out. "I…I…" the girl let out a shaking breath and held back a choked sob. "How…how are you so calm? I-I-"

"Shhh," Mai soothed, pulling the girl to her in a hug. She smoothed the light brown hair of her trainee. "It's okay, trust me, I started out the same as you. Almost pissed myself a time or two."

The comment gained a giggle just as the door was pried open and light finally illuminated the cellar. Mai helped the girl up and together they walked to the stairs.

"It's about time, guys, what were you, enjoying teatime?" Mai quipped as she and Ayami walked up the stairs.

"We tried calling you," Monk tried to defend, but Naru shook his head. He knew it was futile.

"Let me guess, your phones are dead, just like the walkie-talkie and the camera down there?" Naru answered, earning a scowl from the monk. Mai nodded. "Are you all right?"

"Well, why don't we go to Base and we can discuss our adventures," Mai suggested, as Ayami still held on to her. "She's a bit shaken up, but I think after some tea, you'll be fine, right Ayami."

Ayami nodded and gave a weak smile. Mai passed her off to Monk who continued to guide her down the hallway. "Want to tell me what happened?"

"One of the spirits here approached us, not exactly Casper either," Mai answered, crossing her arms. She was beginning to learn that with her psychic abilities also brought an inner coldness that was almost impossible to warm up from.

"You're shivering," Naru said. Mai uncrossed her arms and started to walk toward Base.

"It's been happening more and more often when I see a spirit," she commented dryly.

"Or when you have a vision." He walked to catch up to her and put a hand on her arm. It was cold to the touch. "You're like ice."

She looked up at him and gave a suggestive grin. "Good thing I have you to warm me up later."

She continued to Base leaving her husband standing there with a smirk on his face.

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 **I wanted to include Ayami in Dangerous Souls at one point and perhaps I will in the future, but for now I'll settle for her becoming a ghost hunter. Hope you enjoyed and review! I knew I needed to post something a little light hearted compared to the last chapter. Thanks for reading!**


	5. Perfect

**Okay and I am very glad I rated this fic M! Warning there is lemon in this so don't like don't read! Hope you enjoy and if you follow Dangerous Souls please read the note at the end! Thanks!**

 **Also I am aware of the OOCness and currently don't care this is a bit of an experiment since I don't write this sort of thing... at all...let me know what you think**

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5-Perfect

Almost a year after Mai and Naru started dating, aside from various cases they had taken on and a trip to England, their relationship was rather mundane. This night was not much different. After dinner and a show, Naru had invited Mai to hang out in his apartment for a little while. So here they were, sitting on Naru's couch, the TV on, but they were too preoccupied to notice it.

At the beginning, Mai had cuddled up to Naru's side, but as the night grew on, the distance between their lips didn't. Mai had pulled him over, so her back was against the arm of the couch and one hand on the back of his neck, the other tangled in his hair. Naru was kneeling over her with one hand bracing himself on the arm and the other running through her hair. They both had a passing thought of how incredibly lucky they were. Neither one of them though they would be so happy with someone, let alone each other.

Maybe it was why when they both came up for air there was a different look in their eyes. "I love you," they both said without thinking. But they smiled and Naru pulled her up and over so he was lying with his back on the other arm of the couch and Mai lying on top of him.

Their lips crashed against each other hungrily and they held each other close. Mai had never felt this way before. A warm unsettling feeling filled her stomach, almost like butterflies, but she liked it. She knew Naru felt it to. Maybe that was why when she came up for air with a flushed face, she blushed as she said, "I think…I think I'm ready."

From the beginning, Naru had made it known and insisted that they would not so anything simply because enough time had passed. No, he didn't want this relationship to be one of regrets. Returning the favor is how he thought of it. She waited until he was ready for a relationship so he would wait until she was ready for anything else. The only exception was their trip to England. Luella had insisted Mai tag along for a visit. Of course, they were in separate bedrooms and nothing other than maybe a kiss happened.

But when Mai said this, Naru hesitated. He knew he was her first and she knew she was his. But there was something in his mind, telling him he didn't deserve her. Fear that he wouldn't be able to please her. But Mai leaned back down and began kissing him again.

They weren't too sure how is happened, but while kissing they had migrated to his room, their clothes left in a trail behind them. Now they were down to their underwear, in his bed, touching, feeling, caressing each other. Their hearts raced in anticipation.

Once their relationship began, Ayako had made sure Mai was on contraception, and Lin and Madoka made sure Naru had a small supply of condoms. Needless to say, they were both prepared, just not mentally ready. At least, not until now.

It was clumsy, it was awkward,, bit it was perfect. Naru tried to remove her bra with one hand, but failed miserably. With a giggle, Mai reached behind her with one hand and snapped the garment off. "You'll have to teach me that," he commented with a smirk.

"Later," she said, leaning back and pulling him with her. Naru parted their kiss and propped himself up on his forearm. Mai felt a wave of self-consciousness. She felt his eyes travel across her bare breasts and she bit her lip, looking away. "Naru, please, don't-"

"You're beautiful," he said breathily. Mai wanted to cry. It wasn't like he was just saying it for the sake of complimenting her. No, he truly meant it and the way he looked into her eyes, she knew he didn't think he was worthy of her. It broke her heart, because there were days where she thought the same of him.

So she nodded. "It's okay." She smiled. "You can touch." She watched curiously as he placed one hand over her small mound. Her breath hitched, more in surprise than anything, as he lightly pinched her nipple. They both watched like lab students watching chemicals react as the little nub hardened. Mai blushed furiously when she realized they were both gawking at her chest. Which was why she pulled his head down for yet another kiss. But his lips didn't stay on hers for long. No, he had a brand new toy beneath him and he wanted to see just what she would do.

He vaguely recalled the most awkward talk of his life from Madoka. Even Lin was there and had crossed his legs uncomfortably. "You need to make sure it's pleasurable for the both of you," she had told him. "Especially after what you both went through. I know it was years ago, but still. Light, sensual touches to start. And communicate, nothing is more frustrating than a partner that won't listen to you, or tell you what they want."

That was an interesting conversation and told him more about his friends' sex lives than he ever needed to know. But he put it out of his mind and brought his attention back to the girl beneath him. His lips had traveled down her neck, kissing, nipping, and sucking as his fingers trailed behind. The sensation was so foreign to Mai, no one had ever touched her like this. One drunk ex groped her breasts, but that was so different from Naru's gentle touch. She gasped sharply as something warm and wet surrounded her hardened nub.

Naru was shamelessly sucking her nipple like a newborn. The act made her back arch and she tangled her hand in his hair. She winced when she felt something graze the nub. "Please, Naru, no teeth."

He mumbled an apology as he kissed it and moved on to give the other side the same treatment. He trailed his fingers down her stomach, cupping his hand over the mound covered by light blue panties. He smirked as she tried to hold back a squeak. At least he knew she was enjoying this, her panties were soaked through. He used a finger to trail her slit through the cloth, earning a moan.

Mai grabbed his hair and pulled him back up. Her lips hungrily crashed against his, briefly distracting him as her tongue explored his mouth. She used the distraction to her advantage and pulled down her panties, Naru understanding her intent, helped her remove the clothing.

Naru was now kneeling between her spread legs, gazing thoughtfully at his first official sigh of the female anatomy. Mai blushed again and tried to close her legs, but Naru stopped her. "It's okay," he said softly.

Then she did something totally unexpected, she took his hand and placed it on her mound. Trying to show him what she wanted. She looked in his eyes and nodded with a smile. He ran a finger up and down her slit just barely grazing her clit. She shuddered each time and her eyes were shut tight when she moved his thumb in slow circles over the nub. She bit her lip, stifling a groan and Naru took to pinching the bundle of nerves lightly.

With her practically writhing beneath him and her wetness dripping between her legs, he inserted a finger into her depths. She clamped down reflexively on the intruder and there was no doubt in his mind that she was a virgin. He briefly wondered how his own member would fit, but reminded himself that one day a baby would have to fit through there. Would it be his? He pushed the idea out of his head for the moment and began curling the digit as he continued the pressure on her clit.

Her face was twisted in pleasure. Naru felt her tense up and knew she would soon be thrown over the edge. So he slowed down until he became still, earning a frustrated cry from her. He began his onslaught again and stopped just before she reached her edge again. "God! Naru!" she groaned, her head turning side to side.

He liked having this control over her. He loved the feeling of her quivering body as she gave into her pleasure. He loved that he was the one to have this affect on her. Loved that he was the one doing this to her. He began his pace once again, adding another finger, Mai continued to writhe beneath him. He reached forward with his free hand and pinched her nipple.

Her face was so flushed and she was so glad she had kept her eyes shut. She didn't want to see him staring at her face as it contorted in time with the feelings he was giving her. Oh, she knew he was watching her very closely, but she didn't want to see it. She felt the coil in her belly tighten and twist with white hot intent. She mentally warned her boyfriend to not stop like he had been before. She was about to voice it when her coil snapped and she couldn't hold back her cry of ecstasy.

She fisted the sheets beneath her and thrashed her head as she rode out her high. Naru didn't stop his pace even when she clamped down on his fingers in a fit of spasms. Her legs shook and quivered as Naru watched. He wouldn't help but feel a sense of pride as he removed his hand and watched as her chest heave with her breaths. "Did you like it?" he asked and Mai laughed lazily.

"My God, Naru!" she gasped. Struggling to sit up. He reached over to help. "Are you sure I'm your first.?"

That was probably the best thing she could ever had said. It made him feel that not only had he satisfied her, but that she had thoroughly enjoyed it. He had been, at one point, afraid he couldn't live up to the task. But Mai was full of surprises as their night was nowhere near over.

He hissed when Mai leaned forward and lightly touched the bulge in his boxers. Startled, she pulled her hand away, but he caught her wrist and shook his head. "Sorry, you caught me off guard."

He removed the clothing and his member sprang to life. Mai had only seen pictures of a penis in her health class. Back then, she thought they were weird and grotesque looking, and honestly, had no idea how any guy could walk around with one. But now…with Naru…it was…different. At first glance, the organ was terrifying. Just two of Naru's fingers were a tight fit in her. How on Earth could she accommodate that thing? But logic came through to tell her just what it had told Naru a little earlier. She reached down and circled her hand around the member.

It was hot and throbbing and by the look in Naru's eye, it might have been painful. She had no clue what she was doing, but continued to stroke the phallus. "Gah!" Naru grunted. "Not so tight, Mai." Mai muttered an apology and lightened her grip. She saw the first pearl of precum on the tip and used her thumb to wipe it over the head. She could feel him tense as he reached a hand down to stop hers.

"Naru?" She looked at him quizzically as he stood up and opened a drawer in his dresser. He came back to the bed and was about to put on a condom, when Mai grabbed his hand. "No, Naru." It was his turn to be puzzled. "I…" She couldn't tell you why she stammered. After almost a year of dating and what they had just done, there was nothing to be embarrassed about. "I'm on the pill. I have been for a while. You don't have to do that."

Naru still hesitated. He couldn't tell you why. But he was grateful when Mai wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him on top of her. He was finally able to form words when their lips parted. "I'll go slow, let me know if I'm hurting you." Mai nodded as Naru position himself and she wrapped her legs around him.

He reached down and rubbed her clit before he entered and just the heat radiating off her was enough to make him shiver. He placed the tip at her entrance and slowly pushed in. It was hot and wet and tight and he only had the head in. Mai squirmed beneath him and he wasn't sure whether or not to continue. Mai answered that question by squeezing her legs and thrusting her hips to meet his. Naru answered by thrusting the rest of himself into her. He almost lost control there.

Mai had dug her nails into his shoulders and held him like a vice. Naru swore when he saw a tear, but he kept perfectly still. He wiped it away with one hand. "I'm sorry, Mai. I hurt you."

Mai had kept her eyes shut but shook her head. "It doesn't so much as hurt, but I'm not comfortable."

But her hold on him was dangerous and he wasn't planning on stopping now. So he kissed her again and explored her mouth. The distraction helped and soon Mai had relaxed.

"Can I move?" he asked, coming up for air. Mai nodded. He moved slowly, pulling himself out almost all the way and thrusting slowly back in. For good measure, he began applying pressure to her clit again. Once she was moaning, he moved faster.

It felt better than either of them had imagined. She was so warm and tight and he filled her so full. Clumsy kisses were exchanged, along with ear nibbling, and whispered love confessions. Naru's free hand had found one of hers and their fingers laced. The moment was too good to last, and they both knew it.

Naru's steady fingers brought Mai to her edge first and she screamed his name beside herself. Naru wasn't that far behind her. Her spasming walls were all it took to send him over the edge. He threw his head back and moaned her name as his high took hold of him. Her walls felt his hot spurts of semen and seemed to clamp harder, trying to milk him try.

They were still for a minute, catching their breath. Naru pulled his now limp member from her and rolled over to the side of her. Mai followed his movements and found herself with her head on his chest. Both of their cheeks were flushed, but they were content.

Mai found it hard to keep her eyes open, she had heard her friend complain about her boyfriend falling asleep after sex when she wanted to talk. But after this, Mai could use a nap herself. Guess I just have a better partner, she thought proudly. "That was amazing, Naru. Thank you," she said as he pulled the covers over them. He wrapped one arm under and around her shoulder. As he pulled her close and kissed her forehead, she imagined if every night were like this. Sex or no sex, just holding each other as they drifted to sleep. With a narcissist like Naru? Mai decided she would be happy with that. Very happy indeed.

As Naru held her, he looked down and watched the slow rise and fall of her back. He felt her fingers draw lazy circles on his chest. He had known he loved her for a long time, he was just too afraid to admit it. Their trip to England, just a month prior, wasn't just to help his father with a case. It was to introduce the woman he loved to his family. And Luella wanted to get to know her before he popped the question.

Once they got back, Naru had to be sneaky. Talking to Monk was not a big deal, he could just tell Mai it was about a case. The hard part was getting Michiru and Keiko to help him find a ring and not tell Mai about it. Then he just had to figure out how he would ask her. He knew it wouldn't be as public as Yasuhara's proposal to Kiko. Or as clever as Monk's to Ayako. Or even as romantic as Lin's was to Madoka. He really had no clue how he would ask and the little box was burning a hole in his nightstand.

Oliver Davis was a very private person and had just shared a very private and intimate moment with the one person he cared about more than any other. Maybe that was why he shook a very sleepy Mai awake. "Mai? Mai, wake up."

Mai sat up and rubbed her eyes. "How long was I out?" she yawned. Naru had rolled out of bed and Mai realized it was still nighttime. "What are you doing?"

Naru ignored her and found what he was looking for. Mai had crawled over to his side with a perplexed look. Her eyes widened when she saw him, in all his naked glory, on one knee holding a little black box. Her jaw dropped, she couldn't believe it.

"Taniyama, Mai," he began, his own heart racing. "Will you marry me?"

Mai couldn't help but stare. Frozen to the spot she couldn't get her words out.

"I love you, Mai. I have for a long time. You are the best friend I've ever had and I don't want to know a day without you."

Tears welled in Mai's eyes as he opened the box and a white gold band with a single diamond in the center sat in it. It wasn't extravagant, but it wasn't plain, either. It was simple and everything Mai had ever imagined it would be. "Y-yes!" she said as her tears fell. Naru slid the ring on her finger and joined her on the bed. Mai wrapped her arms around his neck and he fell back on the bed.

Was it the proposal they had always imagined?

No.

Was it perfect?

No.

But it was perfect for them.

* * *

 **This was originally just going to be a lemon scene, but then I got to thinking "How would Naru propose to Mai?" And this sort of just happened.  
**

 **So on Monday I came home from class and found my laptop had basically just died. -_-' Which has all of my chapters and ideas already written out! I had four chapters of Dangerous Souls completed and waiting to be posted and the little bugger went to crap! I'm taking it in to get fixed tomorrow, I really hope nothing is permanently gone otherwise my update on that probably won't be until much closer to Christmas.**

 **So, if you follow that fic or know someone who does please just be patient. Feel free to contact me if you want an ETA on an update! In the meantime, thanks for reading! :D**


	6. Flaws

**This is short and the product of a late night browsing of story prompts. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

6-Flaws

"Well, well, well, I finally found something Naru the Narcissist isn't good at," Mai commented with a smirk as she leaned against the doorway. "Other than admitting feelings."

"I proposed, didn't I?" Naru remarked with a scowl as he waved a towel by the smoke detector to keep the smoke from it. Mai couldn't help but laugh as she went over to the oven and turned it off. "You find this hilarious."

She walked over to the window and opened it. She also plugged in a fan and had it facing outside to help guide the smoke out. The big day was only a couple short months away and Mai was pretty much in charge of all the wedding plans. She was getting stressed out about the details and Naru really was of no help as he focused on the office. He decided he would do something nice and try cooking her dinner. Try, being the keyword.

Turns out the Narcissist can't cook. He could make tea almost as good as Mai herself, but he couldn't manage an oven. Mai had just gotten to his apartment after working out wedding details with Ayako and couldn't help but laugh at the scene.

It also didn't help that he was wearing the pink, ruffled apron Mai had left from cooking for him one night. "It is hilarious," she said, walking over to him and standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "And incredibly sweet, but I think we should order out tonight. Is that okay?"

The smoke had finally calmed down and Naru pulled the pan out of the oven. Whatever had been on the menu that night, well, let's just say a starving dog couldn't eat it. Naru threw the dish into the sink. "I'll leave the cooking to you from now on," he admitted in defeat.

"Agreed," Mai smiled as he leaned down and kissed her lips. It was hard to believe it had been seven months since Naru had gotten on one knee in the middle of the night and asked her what neither of them thought would ever happen. She pulled away and looked into his deep indigo eyes. "C'mon, my treat, where do you want to order from?"

He gave her a squeeze and broke away. He pulled off the apron and put away the oven mitt. "Grab my keys off the counter," he said grabbing his jacket off of the chair. "And it's my treat."

Mai smirked and followed him out the door with a roll of her eyes. What a narcissist.

He was a narcissist. He wasn't perfect. In so many ways he was the most flawed person on the planet. But Mai wouldn't have him any other way.

* * *

 **These cute fluffy scenes will probably be short like this one, primarily because I'm not very good at expanding on those moments. (I'm just scary good at writing depressing scenes I guess lol) But I found a prompt and I was like "I like this" and ta da! Naru can't cook! But he tries! That's the important thing.**

 **I feel like Naru would try something like this for Mai. Do something sweet for her once in a while. And I mean once in a while. Because we all know he gets caught up in his work and would forget to sleep if it weren't for Mai and Lin. I hope you guys enjoyed and review!**


	7. Babysitting

**This is probably my favorite chapter yet. I feel like Mai would get baby fever after they get married and Naru would be hesitant. And what is the best contraception? Kids! So Naru and Mai babysit for Ayako and Monk so they can go on a date. Hilarity ensues. Enjoy!**

* * *

7-Babysitting

"Mai! She's screaming!" Naru called as he stared at the screaming infant in his arms. He was holding the three month old at arms length as she screamed at the top of her lungs. He stared at her, willing her to stop.

"It takes longer than ten seconds to warm up a bottle, Naru!" Mai called back from the kitchen. She was running one of the bottles Ayako had given her under warm water in the sink. "Give me a sec!" She tested the milk on her arm and walked back into the living room of their apartment. She sweatdropped when she saw the scene before her. "Naru? What are you doing?"

"Holding Yukie, what does it look like?" She could have swore she saw his eyes roll. She also wasn't sure she wanted to laugh or leave the man to fend for himself and watch with popcorn.

She put the bottle down on the end table and took the screaming Yukie from her, now, husband's arms. She held the infant in one arm on her hip and pointed to the chair. "Sit."

He gave her an odd look. Nevertheless he obeyed and watched in confusion as his wife put the baby in his arms and propped a pillow under the elbow supporting the infant's head. "Mai, what are you doing?"

"Making sure Yukie is comfy while you feed her, what does it look like I'm doing?" She grabbed his free hand and placed the bottle in it and guided it to Yukie's screaming mouth. Her cries stopped as she sucked greedily at the bottle. "See, she was just hungry. Have fun."

"How much longer until they get back?"

"They only left twenty minutes ago."

Mai started to walk away and Naru narrowed his eyes. "Where are you going? You're the one that offered us up to babysit for them."

"I'm getting popcorn," she said disappearing into the kitchen. "This is going to be an interesting night. And from the look of it, Yukie's going to need another bottle soon."

"How much can a thing this small eat?" Naru had looked down and saw that half of the milk was gone. He shook his head.

* * *

"How did you convince them to watch Yukie for tonight?" Ayako asked as their waiter left with their orders. "I mean, I see how Mai was eager, but Naru?"

"Well, Mai was easy to convince as for Naru," Monk began, taking a sip of the wine they were sharing. "I'm pretty sure that was all Mai's doing. They get to play house for a few hours. And with Yukie crying and dirty diapers, Mai's baby fever will tone down for a little bit."

"And that's why Naru agreed to watch her," Ayako laughed. "She's got baby fever? They haven't been married a year yet." Then her husband gave her a look and she understood. "And that's what Naru wanted to talk to you about last week. Who would have thought he'd go to you for advice?"

"Actually, it's not the first time," Monk laughed. "He wanted my blessing to propose to her, so every now and again he'll ask for advice on dealing with her. Mai can be a handful."

"And she'll come to me for advice on dealing with him. I'm surprised they both don't go to Madoka and Lin."

"They probably do." Monk took another sip of his wine and shrugged. "I wonder how they're doing right now."

"Lin and Madoka?"

"No, Naru and Mai."

* * *

"Why am I the one changing her diaper?" Naru grumbled as he knelt on the floor with Yukie squirming as he tried to unsnap her onezie.

Mai was on the other side of the baby trying to distract her with a stuffed bear. "Because I have to distract her so that it's easier to change her diaper," she said between silly faces.

Her face lifted to meet his as it stilled on a rather ridiculous look with wide eyes and fish lips. "That's terrifying," he said, earning the teddy bear that hit his face. The bear fell to the floor and Naru could see the pout his wife had. "That's better."

Yukie started crying once again as soon as Naru had gotten the diaper off of her. "Now, look what you've done!" Mai exclaimed, grabbing the bear.

"You're the one who threw the bear and scared her."

Mai rolled her eyes and tried to get Yukie to smile. She watched as Naru grabbed the wipe and stopped him with her hand. "Wait! You can't wipe her like that!"

"Like what?" Naru raised a brow.

"You gotta make sure you wipe front to back." Mai rolled her eyes again. "Otherwise she could get an infection."

"But it's just urine."

"Just get in the habit and be thankful that little girls don't-" Mai squeaked and jumped back as a trail of pee flew through the air and landed on a stunned Naru's black shirt. "Spray…" she finished as Yukie seemed to calm down and Naru was covered in baby pee.

"You were saying?" He glared at her. Mai couldn't hold back her laughter as she rolled on the floor. Naru sighed and tied up a new diaper on the three month old. "I need a new shirt." He snapped up the onezie and got up, leaving Mai rolling on the floor and Yukie kicking in excitement.

* * *

"I hope they're doing okay with Yukie," Ayako said, pushing her food around on her plate.

"Ayako, tonight is supposed to be about us," Monk said shaking his head. "Naru and Mai are doing just fine."

"Well, maybe I'm not ready for this." Ayako shook her head and pushed her plate from her. "Can we ask for the check and go home? I'm sure Mai and Naru have had-"

"Ayako," Monk said slowly but firmly, placing his hand over hers. "They are fine. Let's just enjoy this alone time because we won't get it again for a long time."

* * *

"Oh, come on, Naru, that was funny!" Mai laughed as she carried Yukie into the bedroom where her husband was buttoning a new black shirt. "No need to be bitter that a three month old peed on you, better get used to it for when we have kids."

"I'm not bitter," Naru chided, finishing up the buttons. "And we're not having kids for a little while, if anything we're barely ready to take care of one for a few hours let alone everyday."

"But Naru!" Mai almost whined, but leaned her head down to kiss Yukie's head of fuzz as she cooed, "Look how sweet she is! Don't tell me you don't want one!"

Naru gave her a look that changed from annoyed to amused once Yukie spit up on Mai's shirt. In fact, the stoic man started to laugh, earning a glare from his wife.

"Don't laugh at me! You were just peed on!"

"And now Yukie's evened the score," Naru laughed as he went to their bathroom and came out with a wet cloth. He wiped up the spit up from Yukie's mouth and front. Mai continued to glare as he took the baby from her arms. "Look how sweet she is, Mai. No need to be bitter about her spitting up on you."

Mai pouted and let him hold the baby as she grabbed a new shirt.

* * *

"You think Naru has a new case?" Ayako asked, finally finishing her meal. "What makes you think that? Where would it be?"

"I was talking to John and he said he was going to ask Naru's opinion on a house he was trying to bless. Apparently, things are a little more serious than he thought," Monk explained as their waiter came by and took their plates, handing them a dessert menu. "Could be something he might look into, John seemed hopeful."

"At least it will be local," Ayako sighed with relief. "I don't know what I'd do if you left for a case and left me and Yukie alone."

"You miss going on cases, don't you?"

Ayako nodded. She looked down with a sad expression at her hands. "I miss going on cases, but I'd miss Yukie more."

* * *

Mai was back in the living room with a squirming Yukie on the changing mat on the floor. She kneeled over the baby, unsnapping the onezie and holding her breath. "How did I get stuck with this?" she grumbled as Naru left the living room for the kitchen to get another bottle. He made sure she never saw the smirk on his face.

"I changed the last one, your turn to get peed on," he said, running the bottle under warm water.

"But I got spit up on!" She continued to change the girl's diaper, trying not to breathe through her nose.

He came back into the room as Mai finished snapping the garment back into place. Mai took the bottle from his hand and replaced it with the dirty diaper. "It's still warm," Naru muttered, heading into the kitchen to throw it out.

"You don't say," Mai said.

"How can something so small smell so bad?"

Mai smirked with an amused look in her eyes as she held Yukie, but she was still fussy. "What's wrong, Yu-chan? You're not hungry?"

Naru came back into the room, as Mai stood up from the floor with the baby. She pressed the back of her hand to the girl's forehead. "What's wrong? Is she sick?"

But Mai shook her head. "She feels fine, but she's fussy. Maybe she's tired, do newborns have bedtimes?" Her husband shrugged and she sighed. Neither of them knew. "Here, hold her."

"Where are you going?"

"To get her pajamas." Mai handed the infant to him and made sure she was on his chest snugly. She stopped crying almost instantly. "Hey! I think she's finally warmed up to you! Only took three months!"

Naru gave her a look.

* * *

A little while later it was pretty much determined that Naru was Yukie's favorite. Naru was exhausted after helping deal with the baby and the fact that she wanted to literally cling to him, he ended up falling asleep on the couch with the three month old on his chest. Mai smirked as she took several pictures for blackmail.

Luckily, Mai knew Monk and Ayako had gotten back before they had a chance to knock. _I am not going to let him wake up before they see this!_ She told herself as she opened the door with a finger to her lips. "Shh, they're sleeping," Mai said quietly ushering them inside.

Mai had made sure everything was packed up after Yukie fell asleep on Naru and he refused to move otherwise she'd wake up. "Gotta say, that's probably the sweetest thing I've ever seen Naru do," Ayako said as Mai handed the diaper bag to Monk. "I think you to will do just fine when you have one."

Mai, very carefully, removed Yukie from Naru's chest. She did her best to make sure he didn't wake up. Once she was certain Naru hadn't noticed, she handed the still sleeping Yukie to her mom. "Nice work, kiddo," Monk said, patting Mai's head as they headed for the door. They waved goodbye and Monk turned to his wife on their way to the car. "I told you they would be just fine."

Ayako smirked as they reached the car and strapped Yukie into her car seat. "Well, their night was interesting, they're both wearing different shirts." Once she was fastened, Ayako went up to the front seat. "I'm not sure Naru's plan to counter Mai's baby fever worked."

Meanwhile, Mai closed and locked the door to the apartment and went into the living room and kneeling next to the couch. She ran a hand through Naru's hair and place the other on his chest before kissing his lips. "You can get up, they're gone," she said, as he sleepily opened his eyes.

Naru rubbed his eye as he sat up. "When did they get here?" he asked as Mai sat next to him on the couch.

"They literally just left, you fell asleep with Yukie on your chest, it was the sweetest thing," she said with a grin as she wrapped her arms around his torso. She gave a reluctant sigh. "But I think you might've been right, maybe we just aren't ready for a baby just yet. We barely made it through tonight."

Naru leaned back and pulled Mai up with him, kissing her. "I thought we did pretty well," he said with a smirk. "Besides, we have plenty of time to prepare. After tonight, I think nine months would be more than enough time for us to be ready for one."

Mai's eyes widened and her grin grew as she looked up at him. "You mean it?"

Instead of answering, Naru kissed her and pulled her close. It didn't take very long for them to end up in their bedroom. Did they end up with a baby that night? Sadly, no, but it was only a matter of time.

* * *

 **Yeah, some silly fluff and sitcom-like stuff in this one. Honestly, I think this was my favorite one to write. I started thinking about Naru and children, and thought, "what if he babysits?" then I thought "what if he and Mai babysat?" and yeah this just sort of happened! Let me know what you think!**


	8. Time

**So this is another writing prompt that I had done back in October. This one toys around with a concept that I've started to introduce in Dangerous Souls and was brought to my attention in a book series I recently became in love with. It also toys around with how Mai would handle cases after starting a family. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

8-Time

Time. It wasn't something that she had a lot of. She knew that for sure. It was imperative that she figured it out before the clock ran out. Too bad she couldn't see the clock. She was flying blind. She had to find that little boy before it was too late.

This case was especially difficult for the young woman. She and her husband had just welcomed their baby boy to the world only a couple months before. This was the first case she had accompanied her husband on since her pregnancy and the first case in a long time involving children. They had not anticipated such a high danger aspect on this case. Hadn't expected to find that no exorcism or cleansing would free the boy from his demon. Hadn't expected the boy to break free from his restraints and disappear.

It was winter.

They were in the mountains.

There was a storm outside.

"C'mon, Mai, stay close. I don't need to lose you too," Naru said, grabbing her hand and pulling her into the woods.

The icy wind burned their faces and made their eyes water. Since having her baby she wasn't easily picking things up with her clairvoyance anymore. Then again, she was really only picking up what spirits were telling her. But not a soul aside from her and her husband were in the forest. She felt the pit of her stomach grow cold. Her hands and feet were numb despite her clothing. The coldness seemed to seep into the rest of her body. She was certain that her frozen face wasn't red from windburn anymore. She felt like her blood was slowly freezing over. Her movements were becoming sluggish.

 _"Naru, there's no sign of him in the house,"_ Ayako's voice sounded through the walkie-talkie in Naru's pocket. _"He's gotta be somewhere out there."_

"Thanks, Ayako, stay there with Masako in case he turns up," Naru replied. He had dropped using only family names around the time of Ayako and Monk's wedding. "The weather's just getting worse, it might be better if you wait-"

"No!" Mai snapped. "I'm not leaving you out here and I'm sure as hell not going to waste anymore time for that boy to freeze to death out here!"

"You're shaking-"

"I'm fine, Oliver-" Then she saw it. A small figure darting deeper into the woods. Should she have mentioned it to her husband? Probably. Did that stop her from charging after the shadow? Absolutely not.

"Mai!" Naru flashed his light toward his sprinting wife. She wasn't going to stop. It was dark out. How the hell was she not running into trees?

Mai weaved through the trees, leaping over roots, ducking under branches, only seeing the shadow amongst others, but managing to follow it. She could hear footsteps behind her, but it made her run faster. She finally came to a stop and was able to see the little boy in front of her clearly. "Hikaru-san, it's too cold to be out here," she told him but the boy wore a sad smile.

"That's okay, I'm not cold anymore. And the demon is gone. You guys can go home," Hikaru replied. Mai cocked her head to the side hearing the words, but not fully understanding.

"Hikaru, what do you mean? C'mon let's go back to the house, you can have some hot chocolate and we'll play charades by the fire."

"I would if I could, but-"

"Mai!" Naru's voice and footsteps had caught up to her. "Mai! Don't go running off like that!"

"Naru, I found-" But Mai's smile instantly turned upside-down when the light showed not the boy that had bee standing in front of her talking. Instead, it showed a limp arm hanging over a root, mostly covered in snow. "No."

"Shit," he swore in English. He grabbed Mai's arm and pulled her back into him. "Go back to the house."

"No…" she whimpered as realization hit her. Tears welled in her eyes and she literally felt frozen to the core. They were going to have to tell his parents he was dead. That they couldn't save him. That they had failed. "Hikaru…" Her voice cracked as she spoke. Her knees gave out and she was on the ground before Naru could react.

 _Someone just lost their son. If I ever lost Gene, I-_ And the tears fell faster. Her throat let out gut-retching sobs as she hunched over. _We're too late. We didn't make it in time. How the hell could we let this happen?_

Naru put a hand on his wife's shoulder and was about to address the mess she was in, but he noticed something. He walked up to the body and placed two fingers on the boy's neck. "Ayako, call an ambulance," he said into the walkie-talkie. Mai's head perked up and she heard Naru brush off the snow. She heard him swear again in English. He took off his coat and wrapped it around the boy. Mai began to remove hers.

"Don't." He picked up the boy and started walking toward her. "We don't need to send two people to the hospital tonight."

Normally she would berate him for teasing her in such a serious situation. However, she was too relieved that they had made it! Time was on their side! They had beaten the clock! They just needed to get rid of the demon, but-

She spoke with him. Did he-

 _Mai, worry about it later. For now focus on getting him back home and to the hospital. He will be okay,_ she told herself.

And just like that she began tearing up again. Tears fell and giggles shook her. They made it. That's all she could think. _We actually did it._

Back at the house, the ambulance was waiting for them. It took Hikaru and his mother to the hospital where he was treated for hypothermia. Mai and Naru got changed into warm and dry clothes and each given a hot cup of tea. Mai sat at the table with her hair up in a towel and sighed into her cup.

 _For some reason, I still don't feel any warmer_ , she thought as another shiver went down her spine. Naru placed a hand over hers, she was still too numb to feel it.

"You're still like ice," he said quietly to her. She just took a sip from the mug in her other hand. The hot liquid seemed to burn her throat on the way down.

"I guess you were right in not letting me take my coat off to give to Hikaru," she replied quietly, suddenly feeling sleepy. She stifled a yawn and took another scalding sip.

"Hey, why don't you two go to bed?" Ayako offered, walking to the table where they sat. "Masako and I can keep tabs on Base and call Himeko-san to find out how Hikaru is doing."

"Thanks, Ayako, but-" Mai tried to protest, but Ayako held up a hand.

"It was a suggestion, but not anymore." The older woman smiled, looking between them. "You guys were out there a while earlier and the search for the kid was not easy nor quick. It's taken a lot out of both of you. Now go get some rest."

"But-"

"She's right, Mai," Naru said, stopping her. "We both need rest."

She knew right away that that meant he needed to talk to her. Alone. She just wasn't sure how long she'd be able to last in conversation. She was having difficulty keeping her eyes open. Nevertheless, Naru stood and took her arm as they said their goodnights to everyone and walked to the room they were staying in.

Neither of them felt like going through the hassle of buttoning their pajamas, and settled for sweatpants and t-shirt or tanktop for each of them. He asked her what was wrong and she told him how she followed Hikaru's spirit to where he had collapsed. "That's why you were more freaked when we saw his body," Naru said. Mai nodded. "But that's not why you were crying." And Mai nodded again.

"I…" Once again her voice cracked, as they both sat on their bed not quite in the covers. Naru placed a hand on her arm and was alarmed at how cold she still was. "I-I could only see us having to explain to Himeko that her son was dead. A-and how she'd react." Tears well in her eyes again as her voiced cracked once more. "All…all I could think of is, 'what if that were Gene? How would I react?'" She choked out a sob and tried not to look at Naru's face. "S-so, in-instead of Hikaru, I-I saw Gene. H-how awful is that!"

Naru pulled her close into his arms and held on tighter than ever before. She sobbed into his shirt, her fists clenching the material. He noticed how cold her whole body was. They had been inside in the heat for more than an hour, she should have warmed up some by now. Should he have made her go to the hospital too? Then he realized that the cold outside was only a part of what was affecting her. Sometimes, her psychic abilities would leave her cold from the inside out.

"Shhh," he cooed in her ear, rubbing her back. "It wasn't him, and you found Hikaru just in time. If you hadn't followed his spirit when you did, we wouldn't have made it."

"But we almost didn't!" A broken sob crackled from her throat. "We won't always be that lucky! Time might not be on our side next time. And what if next time-"

"Stop." He didn't shout. He didn't scold. He didn't tease. He just brought her face to meet him. "You're not supposed to be the cynical one in this relationship." Okay so he sort of half-teased.

"Oliver, this isn't the time for-" But she silenced her with a kiss. Unable to resist, she melted into him. Finally they both came up for air.

"Hikaru is going to be fine. Gene is safe. The case is almost solved. And you did your part." He said flatly, not giving her a chance to respond he continued. "We might not always be this lucky, we sure as hell aren't always. We've seen quite a bit of death over the years. But we'll get through it together."

Beside herself, Mai chuckled, as she leaned up to kiss him. "What did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Broke my assistant's ankle," he smirked, she nudged him. "Let's get some sleep, are you getting any warmer?"

Mai thought for a moment, realizing the feeling was coming back to her fingers. "You know, I think I'm finally thawing out. I guess you don't have a frozen heart."

He reached over and turned off his lamp and pushed her into the bed with another kiss. He pulled the blankets around them and held her close. Within minutes, they were both asleep.

* * *

 **So it's a little OCC I know, but I still love this scene. ^.^ I also wanted this chapter to sort of help explain some things that I have planned for the next chapter.**

 **Thank you all for your ideas and reviews! I can say that I do plan on writing out some of those ideas and have already started to. But some might take place in Dangerous Souls so please stay tuned! Next chapter will be a sweet one!**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**


	9. Ghosts

**So here is a sweet chapter that I came up with for another story prompt. This is one of my favorites to write and I added more before I uploaded it. Hope you enjoy!**

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9-Ghosts

Once Naru and Mai had Gene, Mai's role at the office was greatly reduced. For the most part she would stay at home and care for the infant. She did eventually start to go on investigations, granted not as often as she used to, but she did. She would even bring their little boy to the office and get paperwork done while caring for him. But once Mai was pregnant again and had once again gotten herself into a very dangerous situation on a case, they both decided that it would be best if she remained at home for the most part.

Naru had gone on a few cases without her, but she insisted on being of some help. She would usually research for them. And would usually watch everyone else's kids during the case, most of the time one of the other moms would stay behind and they would tag team the babysitting.

But Mai and Naru's children weren't quite in school yet and were too mobile to bring into the office. They had decided not to put Gene into preschool, because he was getting plenty of interaction with his little sister and the rest of the team's and their friends' children. Mai would usually find herself hanging out with her kids in their apartment.

On this specific day, it was cold in February, Mai couldn't take the kids to the park or to the office. They had to entertain themselves another way. Mai had learned to get very creative with her kids. So despite the gloomy day outside and the cold temperature, they did not spend the day watching movies.

Naru had gotten used to coming home to find the three of them in the middle of some strange game that usually ended with various pieces of furniture moved about and maybe some sheets thrown over them to make a fort. On this day, however, it wasn't a secret clubhouse that he came home to and had to guess the password.

It did, however, involve a sheet.

"Gene, Midori, what are you doing?" Naru asked as he walked into his living room. In the middle of it stood a little girl with hazel eyes and light brown hair up in lopsided pigtails, holding a hairbrush. She pointed the brush at her brother who had a white sheet draped over him.

"Papa!" the little girl exclaimed with wide curious eyes that reminded him of her mother.

"I'm a ghostie!" the little boy said, raising his hand.

"I Mama!" the little girl added. She turned back around and jabbed the brush toward her brother. "Go away! Back, ghostie, back! Zai! Zen!"

Naru just tilted his head to the side, where was their mother? "Hey, Midori, where is Mama?"

"Camera!" Midori pointed to the couch and sure enough Mai rose from behind it with one of their cameras.

"They said I had to hide otherwise the ghostie wouldn't come out," Mai said with a smile, zooming in on her husband's confused face. "They've been taking turns being the ghost and one of us, I _had_ to get it on tape!"

"You taught her the nine cuts?"

Mai shook her head and shrugged. "Wasn't me. Honestly, I have no clue how she learned it. I didn't even use it when I was pregnant with her."

"Did you cut holes in the sheet?" he asked, seeing his son's deep blue eyes peer up at him.

"It's an old sheet, so why not?"

Gene grabbed his father's hand and pulled him down. Naru knelt down as his son threw the sheet over him. "I'm Papa now!" he said gleefully as Naru adjusted the sheet.

"The eyeholes are lopsided," he commented dryly earning a look from his wife.

"So are your ears, now deal with it."

"Bad ghostie!" Midori pushed against her father's leg.

"Uh oh, I am a bad ghostie aren't I?" This earned him giggles from his kids. "Do you know what bad ghosts do?" The two shook their heads. "They catch little kids!" He took a step and the two kids ran out of the room in fits of giggles and screeches and Mai recorded the spectacle.

She giggled and shook her head. _Oh Naru, who would've thought you'd turn into such a great dad?_ She thought to herself with a smile as her husband caught their two year old daughter and threw her into the air. Their son latched onto the man's leg as the giggles continued.

And Mai realized that she and Naru finally found it. They found happiness. It didn't happen the way they planned it. Hell, they didn't plan a thing. But they wouldn't have had it any other way.

Mai smirked behind the camera. _Ghosts brought us together_ , she thought, amused. She watched as her children managed to knock their father to the ground, playfully shouting the incantation that she herself used to protect her team and herself on cases.

 _And ghosts will keep us together._

* * *

 **I love the idea of Naru playing with his future kids. And when the prompt just said "** **Ghosts" I knew it had to be a Ghost Hunt scene. But I also knew I had to put some type of twist on it and I thought "what about their kids? Would they become ghost hunters one day?" But I didn't want to write about their kids all grown up just yet, maybe I'll do that in the future, but this time I wanted to write about how much Gene and Midori admired their parents at such a young age. I hope this scene at least captured that just a little.**

 **Anyway thanks for reading! I hope you all had a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, or whatever holiday you might had celebrated! I hope to have Dangerous Souls updated before the New Year so stayed tuned!**

 **Happy New Year everyone!**


	10. Grateful

**So this one was literally spawned because I was watching hospital shows yesterday lol. Also someone requested a scene with Mai in the hospital and I put a different twist on the request. This didn't turn out exactly how I had planned it but I love it and hope you all will too! Enjoy!**

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10-Grateful

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He had refused to sit down. For a little bit, he had taken to pacing, but now he settled for glaring at the door. It was taking too long. And he was feeling guilty for it. If only he had taken her here sooner.

 _"Naru, it's just a stomach bug, I'll be fine. Go take Gene to the park, he's supposed to play with Yukie and Haru."_

It was hard to believe it was only a few short hours ago that she said that and curled herself up in their bed. She hadn't been feeling great the day before, her stomach was cramping and pain seemed to spread to her lower abdomen. Naru had tried to get her to get checked out, but she was sure it was just an ovarian cyst. She had had one before and the pain was similar.

Once she started puking and came down with a fever, she was certain she just had a stomach bug. Michiru had it the week before. It had to be that. It just had to be. So she popped a couple of Tylenol and prayed that she could keep it down and curled up in her bed.

He never should have believed her. Never should have left her. He should have just had Keiko pick up Gene so that he could take Mai to the doctor. He was lucky that Keiko had followed him home to say hi to Mai. At least she could look after Gene.

 _Thank God he didn't see Mai like that,_ Naru told himself. He had come home to find Mai had thrown up again in the waste bin and she was curled up in such a tight ball, whimpering.

 _"Keiko, I need you to look after Gene for a bit,"_ he had said when he came out of the bedroom after calling an ambulance. There was no way he was going to be able to get the woman out of their apartment. Judging by the look she gave him, she seemed to understand the emotion behind the calm exterior and led Gene out with her own son, Haru.

 _"Let me know when you know something,"_ she had said as she left with the two little boys.

 _That was almost three hours ago_ , he thought bitterly. He drummed his fingers against his thigh, proving to the nurses and doctors passing by how impatient the man was. But it was really to help keep his hands from shaking. He hated when he couldn't control the situation.

The only thing he hated more than situations he had no control over, were situation where he _could_ _have_ controlled. Well, at least a little more control. Had he gotten her to the hospital sooner, she wouldn't still be in surgery.

 _An appendectomy shouldn't be taking this long…_ He gripped the two rings in his fist. A nurse had given them to him right after Mai had been wheeled in for surgery.

 _"I thought you might want to hold onto these,"_ the nurse had said. _"I didn't want them to get damaged or lost, but don't worry, this procedure is very simple and common. She'll be out in under an hour."_

 _And that was almost two hours ago,_ he remembered. _What is taking so long?_

"Any word?" He wasn't surprised to hear the voice of his longtime friend. No. It just meant that there would soon be another seven or so people piled into the waiting area of the operating room.

Naru never took his gaze off of the door. It was as though he was willing it to open with news of his wife. Preferably good. "It's been two hours. She shouldn't still be in there."

"Takigawa called me, Ayako's doing everything she can to find out what's going on," Lin explained, placing a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "She'll pull through, Oliver, she's too strong to let something like this take her out."

But that was just it. This wasn't what was supposed to take her out. The girl had been to Hell and back, literally and figuratively. Their job was dangerous sometimes. Sometimes it was a miracle that they came home alive let alone unscathed. Mai had been sent to the hospital on a few occasions because of a malicious spirit, but that wasn't what might take her out for good this time.

He shouldn't be so worried, he knew. Mai had actually been through worse. But it didn't reassure him in the slightest. It made him even more terrified.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

He wasn't supposed to be so afraid of losing her. He wasn't supposed to believe that was ever an option again. Mai had been through enough. She wasn't supposed to get sick like this. He wasn't supposed to sit on the sidelines again and watch helplessly.

But that was all he could do.

Yasuhara had arrived. Monk must have called everyone. Guess that was the perk to having a wife who worked at the hospital your surrogate sister was sent to. Soon Ayako walked out of the doors that Naru had been glaring. He managed to soften his glare when she saw him. But she shook her head. "Because I know her they won't tell me anything. She's still in surgery but it looked like they were wrapping up. The doctor should be out soon." She gave a soft and hopeful smile.

Michiru and Keiko were the next to arrive. When Naru saw that Keiko had brought Gene with her, he almost lost it. "You-"

"I called her, Noll." The voice that entered the waiting area stopped the man from saying anything he shouldn't. The woman walked in holding the hand of her own child. "I figured it would just be best if we met here and checked on her. Gene will stay with us for the night."

Naru just nodded as his son squirmed his way out of Keiko's grasp and grabbed onto his leg. "Mama?" The big deep blue eyes that stared up at the man held a curiousness and innocence that he knew the boy gained from his mother.

So Naru sat down in one of the chairs and pulled the boy into his lap. He looked over to the group that had gathered in the waiting area. "Thank you," he said with a nod to Madoka and Keiko. He turned back to his son. "Mama's in there."

"Why?"

"Booboo," was all the man said. It must have been enough, because the little boy just hugged his father and held on tight. Mama wasn't supposed to get booboos.

Mai wasn't supposed to leave the two of them alone like this. They needed her.

It seemed like another hour had gone by, but it was only a few more minutes until the operating doctor walked out of the doors. He seemed to look over the group that was waiting there. "Mai Davis's family, I presume?" The entire group nodded.

It was probably thanks to a look from Ayako, but the doctor seemed to be okay with explaining the situation with the group of people who were obviously not related. "How is she?" Naru finally asked, unable to take it.

"Surgery was a success, despite some complications," the doctor finally explained.

The group all seemed to exhale in relief, but Naru wasn't deterred. "What kind of complications?"

"The appendix ruptured in the middle of the procedure, so we had to get that cleaned up. However, she is recuperating right now and should be coming out of the anesthesia momentarily. We'll be keeping her overnight to keep a close eye on any possible infection. She should be able to come home late tomorrow or the following day depending on how she's doing."

Naru let out a breath and realized Gene was still in his arms. "Can she have visitors?" he asked. The man nodded, but held up a hand.

"At the moment, I think it would be best if you only visited her two at a time."

"That's okay, I'll stop by tomorrow with Kiko," Yasuhara said with a smile and a pat on Naru's back. "I'm just glad she's okay."

"Let her know we're all thinking of her," Michiru said with a relieved smile. Keiko nodded next to her.

"Yeah, if you guys need anything just give us a call."

"Thank you," Naru managed to nod as Madoka came up to him.

"Here, I'll take Gene, he'll stay at our place tonight. We can bring him over tomorrow if Mai's up for it," she said, taking the boy out of his father's arms.

Naru managed a smile and patted the little boy's head. "Be good for Aunt Madoka, okay Gene?" The little boy nodded. "Thank you," he said to his former teacher.

"Okay, Gene, let's go home." Madoka's tuned was cheerful, but the boy in her arms was starting to get fussy.

"Mama! Mama!" he whimpered. Lin even took the squirming boy from his wife's arms, while their own child followed them out of the waiting area.

It broke Naru's heart, but he didn't want Gene to see the sight that his mother most likely was. It would just be better if he came to see her the following day.

That just left Naru with Monk and Ayako. The priestess sighed. "You two go and see her, I'll check on her in a little bit." She walked off to finish whatever tasks she had been caught up in.

The doctor led the way for the two men. They were led to a white room that seemed too bright for anyone to get any rest. In the middle lay a woman in her twenties, she was hooked up to monitors and IVs. Naru had seen a sight like this on several occasions. It didn't mean he ever got used to it.

"Davis-san? Davis-san?" the doctor called quietly as he tapped the young woman's shoulder. Her eyelids fluttered, but she was still out of it. "You have visitors."

She was still stuck in a fog and it was obvious that once she fully awoke she would still be out of it. So Monk just patted and kissed the woman's hair before turning to the younger man in the room. "I'll stop by later with Ayako, you two deserve a minute," he said before patting Naru's shoulder and leaving.

"She'll come around soon, have a seat," the doctor said after checking her vitals.

Naru sat on her left side and slipped the rings he was carrying back onto her finger. He noticed the slight indent that they had left on her skin after four years of constant wear. He brushed a lock of her hair away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. A habit he had picked up to doing after years of sleeping in the same bed as her. It seemed to be enough for her eyes to flutter open. "N-Naru?"

He held her hand. "I'm here, Mai."

She blinked hard at the harsh lighting. "Where am I?"

"The hospital. Do you remember what happened?"

Mai thought for a second and noticed the ache in her side. "I remember being sick in bed. My side was killing me-"

"It almost did," Naru said, unknowingly tightening his grip on her hand. Mai gave him a look. "You had appendicitis."

"Well, that explains a lot," she said, trying to tease. He was not amused. At all. "What do you want me to say?"

Naru had taken to looking at the floor, but he kept his grasp on her hand.

Mai fought the urge to roll her eyes. Whenever she was hurt on a case, he always found a way to blame himself. "Don't tell me you blame yourself. And if you do, stop it. You were right and I was wrong and I'm going to be okay."

"I should have brought you here sooner," he said, his eyes finally meeting hers.

"No, I told you to play with our son and spend time with him. No one is to blame. You can stop being angsty." She grinned at her tease. He was not amused. Again.

"Mai, you could have died-"

"Because of an infection that neither of us could have predicted," she finished, giving him a hard look. "There were a couple of cases where I _should_ be dead. But I'm not. So, for once, can you not worry and fret about what could have been, but be grateful for what is?"

That had struck a cord, maybe that was why he leaned over and kissed her head. He always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with her being right. But she definitely was this time, and he couldn't deny that. He never said it out loud, but by the look Mai gave him when he looked down at her, he knew she heard him loud and clear.

"I love you."

"I love you, too."

And that's how Naru spent the night in the hospital next to his wife. Sure, his back and neck were sore from the uncomfortable chair, but he never left her side.

* * *

 **So I kind of ended it abruptly, but I feel that the scene has served its purpose. This will be my last post of 2016! I hope you all enjoyed and thank you all for your support of this fic and Dangerous Souls! Happy New Year!**


	11. England Part 1

**Happy New Year! I'm sorry for the delay it's been a rough year so far to be perfectly honest. But I won't depress you all with that! Check my profile if you would like the whole story.**

 **Anyway, the next couple of chapters will be part of a specific plot. Now this is something I've wanted to do for a while now. Ever since I came up with chapter 5 of this fic. Now we get to see what exactly happened when Naru took Mai to England for the first time. School's officially begun for me so my updates might be less frequent, but keep an eye on my profile as I'll be updating it more often. Enjoy!**

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11-England Part 1

"Are you sure I should be here?" Mai asked as she and Naru got off the plane. She, unfortunately, didn't manage to take a nap on the thirteen hour flight. "I wouldn't have minded watching the office, I don't want to be in the way of your father's case."

"When have you been in the way?" Naru asked with a raised brow. Neither of them had switched to speaking in English yet. She gave him a pout. "C'mon, Madoka and Lin are waiting for us."

Mai followed him, they had both gotten up that morning for a nine A.M. flight and had just arrived in England a little before one P.M. They still had to get through customs, how long had Madoka and Lin been waiting for them?

A little while later, they had grabbed their bags from the baggage claim and were warmly greeted in the lobby by the very tall Chinese man and his little taller than average wife. "Yay! You made it!" Madoka squealed in English as she rushed up to them. She wrapped Mai in a hug that made the girl lose her grasp on her bag. Luckily, Lin wasn't too far behind and had taken a hold of it. "Welcome to England!"

"Thanks, Madoka," Mai replied, switching to English as well. She noticed how Madoka barely had an accent when she spoke. _I hope my accent isn't bad_ , she thought worriedly. "Hi, Lin."

"Hello, Mai, Noll," Lin said with a slight smile as he picked up her bag. Madoka grabbed the young woman's arm and held on tight. She certainly was excited.

"I'm so glad you came, Mai! I know you're here mainly for the case, but I just have to show you some of the sights! Unfortunately, the weather's been overcast lately, so it looks a little gloomy, but it's beautiful nonetheless!" Madoka rambled as she led the young woman out to the car they had waiting out front. "So, how was you're flight? Did you manage to sleep on the plane?"

Madoka kept up conversation as she sat in the back seat with Mai, while Lin and Naru took the front seats. The house was a little ways away from the airport, about an hour. At least Mai thought it was a house that Naru had lived in. She couldn't keep her surprised look from her face as they pulled up to the small mansion in the countryside.

This _is where Naru grew up?_ Mai wondered as she looked at the building in amazement. _I guess it makes sense. It explains why I was always paid so well, but still…_

"You guys must be exhausted! It's the middle of the night in Japan right now," Madoka commented as the group walked into the building. She turned to Naru. "Your father's out with a colleague discussing the case and your mum is shopping for dinner. If you both would like, you can take a nap before they get back."

So, that was how Mai was shown to her room where she took a nap that lasted longer than she planned. "Seven thirty! Geez, I hope I'm not the one delaying dinner," she said to herself worriedly.

 _Why are you freaking out, Mai? Sure, you're in Europe for the first time. Staying at your boyfriend's mansion in the countryside. You have Madoka here. You met Naru's parents before, albeit it was very brief and you were a teenager back then. Now you have a chance to really make a good impression._

 _By possibly sleeping through dinner…Awesome work, Mai!_

Mai shook her head and quickly walked over to her suitcase to choose her outfit of the evening. _Why didn't I ask Naru how formal this might be? Do I wear a dress? I feel like I'm supposed to wear a fancy dress just being in this place!_

After mentally debating through a outfits she brought with her. She finally decided on a pair of back pants and a deep blue blouse that went well with her boyfriend's eyes. She was tempted to wear her heels because she knew she would be the shortest one at dinner, but with the hardwood floors everywhere, she felt she would be too noisy in them and settled for flats.

She put on a little makeup and brushed her hair, smoothing out he static from sleeping. Checking her appearance once more in the mirror, she left her room and headed downstairs to meet the family. "Good, you're up." The voice startled the brunette just as she made it to the stairwell.

Mai snapped her head around to find none other that Naru as he was leaving his own room just a few doors down from hers. "Geez, Naru, you scared me," she said with a breath of relief. She gave him a look when she saw his smirk.

"You look very nice," he said in Japanese, taking her hand and leading her down the stairwell. He was, as usual, decked out in all black, but his eyes seemed even bluer when she looked into them. Maybe it was her shirt.

"You don't look so bad yourself," she said in English with a smirk. She switched back to Japanese. "I didn't make us late for dinner, did I?"

Naru shook his head and suppressed a chuckled. "No, I think Luella is planning a late dinner because we would be jetlagged."

"You don't call her by her first name to her face, do you?" she asked with a raised brow.

"Sometimes," he admitted with a shrug. "Or I refer to her as Mother."

Mai shook her head with closed eyes. Then a thought occurred to her. "What do I call her?" She couldn't believe she hadn't brought this up to him before. "Do I call her Luella? Davis-san? I have no right to call her Mom or anything like that." She continued to ramble in rapid Japanese. But Naru just patted her hand.

"Why are you so nervous?" he asked, stopping her in the foyer, before they could walk into the living area. "You've met them before."

"I was still in high school, Naru," she argued with a pout. "And your _assistant_. I'm neither of those things anymore. Well, I'm still technically your assistant-"

"Partner, Mai." His voice was stern, but his gaze was gentle. "We went over this."

"I know, it's just-" She never finished her statement.

"I hope you two had a nice nap!" Madoka's voice rang cheerfully in English. As she got closer to the couple her voice went low. "I certainly hope we are not dealing with any lovers' quarrels now, are we?" Her tone was of warning as she spoke in Japanese.

"Yes, I did sleep well," Mai said in English, once again hoping her accent wasn't too noticeable. In Japanese she added, softly, "We're fine, Madoka."

"Good," the woman said with a bright smile. She turned to Naru. "Your father is in the living room with Lin, waiting for you both. Dinner should be ready soon. C'mon."

Madoka lead the couple into the living room where Lin and another man had been sitting, but they stood up as they entered. The second man was a couple inches taller than Naru, with dark blonde hair that was starting to gray to a white at the temples. He had light green eyes creased around with wrinkles when he smiled. It gave such a kind look to him. "It's an absolute pleasure to meet you, Miss Taniyama," he said warmly extending his hand to shake. "Unfortunately, I could never pick up on Japanese. Luella was always more interested in trying to learn it."

Mai took his and smiled back, suddenly feeling relieved. "It's nice to meet you, too. And please, call me, Mai."

"Only if you call me, Martin," he laughed, parting their handshake. "Your English is excellent, by the way. Noll told me you were fluent, but you really don't have much of an accent. Were you bilingual growing up?"

Mai shook her head with a little laugh. "Actually, English was my worst subject up until high school. I began picking up on it and ended up majoring in linguistics once I entered University."

"Very impressive."

Martin continued to make small talk with Mai as Madoka snuck up behind Naru and pulled him back and away from the conversation for a minute. "I just want to say I have absolutely nothing to do with what's about to happen," she said in Japanese, earning an odd look from the young man.

"What are you talking about?" His tone was that of warning, but he kept his voice low enough for no one else to hear.

"You'll see," Madoka said grimly. Naru did not like where this was going.

"Dinner is served!" Another cheerful voice called from the next room over.

"Perfect timing!" Martin quipped. He offered his arm to Mai. "If I may?"

"Of course," Mai replied with a grin. At least Naru's father wasn't nearly as intimidating as she thought he would be. She took his arm and let the older man lead her to the dining room.

The dining room table was full of food that reminded her of what a former pen pal described a holiday that she celebrated in the U.S. There was turkey and gravy, potatoes, both mashed and sweet, cranberry sauce, veggies, and all the other fixings of a feast. Luella had certainly outdone herself.

"Noll! You're here!" A shrill voice screamed as Mai watched a flash of yellow sprint past her and her boyfriend's father.

Looks like Luella had help with making dinner.

The girl was probably the same age as Naru with long golden blonde hair falling in soft curls down her back. Mai couldn't get a good look at her face seeing as it was buried in the young man's chest. While Mai was certain that her face told every emotion that she was feeling right then, Naru's remained impassive. "Hello, Evangeline," he said blandly.

 _Evangeline_?

"I've missed you so much! You don't come home nearly as often as you should!" The girl had yet to let go of Naru and Mai couldn't help but wonder who the hell she was.

"Oliver! You're awake!" Another voice called. Mai turned to find a middle-aged woman with medium copper brown hair tied in a low bun to the right side of her head. She had golden amber eyes and was about as tall as Madoka. "You must be Mai, I've heard an awful lot about you." The woman smiled and wrapped the girl in a hug. "Welcome to England and feel free to call me Luella!"

"Well, this will make for an interesting dinner," Madoka whispered to Lin with a sigh.

Lin nodded and leaned down so she would be the only one to hear him. "I'm surprised you didn't sell tickets," he teased, earning a playful smack.

"I did not plan this!" she hissed.

* * *

 **Uh oh. Someone's in trouble. ooohhh!**

 **Wait..**

 **That someone is...me.**

 **I'll have the next chapter up soon. Just who is Evangeline? Did Madoka really not plan this? Find out next time!**


	12. England Part 2

**Yay! I finally updated! I'm sorry for taking so long, but school and spring break came and I was out of the country and I wanted to get to a point in Dangerous Souls before I continued this fic which I made it to! Check it out if you haven't, it will make future chapters of this fic make more sense! I hope you enjoy I think this may be a five chapter saga but I promise you won't be disappointed! Enjoy!**

* * *

12-England Part 2

After that awkward start, dinner commenced in a much calmer manner. The seven of them sat around the table with Martin and Luella at the two heads, Mai sat to the right of Martin with Naru on her right and Evangeline on his, Madoka and Lin sat across from them. Martin, Luella, and Madoka did a great job keeping up conversation and engaging Mai, trying to get to know her.

Mai tried to keep her mind off of the blonde girl sitting on the other side of her boyfriend. But she ahd to admit the girl was beautiful. Tall, thin, blonde, she had the biggest light blue eyes Mai had ever seen and lashes she would kill for. _But who is she? And why has Naru never mentioned her before? Suddenly…I'm not so hungry anymore…_

"So how did you two meet?" Luella asked, looking to Mai.

"Well," she began, adjusting her napkin on her lap. "He actually was investigating the abandoned schoolhouse at my high school when I was a freshman. Some friends and I were telling ghost stories in one of the empty classrooms like we normally did and Naru decided to scare us by pretending to be a ghost."

"Yes, but you sought revenge by breaking Lin's ankle and my camera," Naru quipped between bites.

"None of it was intentional unlike you getting free help out of me to pay for the camera," Mai said almost rolling her eyes.

"Oliver, I told you to make sure the equipment was insured," Martin scolded, even though the event was years ago.

"Don't worry, Martin," Mai replied, taking a bite. "He made sure everything was insured. I just didn't find out until working for him for almost a year."

"Oliver!" Luella exclaimed with wide eyes. Naru looked as though he was beginning to get a headache and Mai could only laugh and shake her head.

 _Serves him right for not telling me about whomever this Evangeline is,_ she smirked. "Don't worry, Luella, I was paid well for helping him out since Lin wasn't able to," she explained with a smile. "After that he even offered me a job as his assistant after the case. And now here we are."

"Poor Lin," Evangeline commented, pushing her food around with her fork. She had barely touched her plate. "You must have been really hurt for Noll to need another assistant."

Mai was taken aback by the girl's response and opened her mouth to retort, when Lin answered. "It was just a sprain to my ankle, I was better after a few days," he explained emotionlessly.

"But what were you doing in the schoolhouse that caused you to break a camera?" the blonde girl asked, leaning over to look at the brunette.

"I was passing it on my way to class and I didn't understand why there was a camera in there," Mai explained with a shrug. "I went in to investigate and Lin shouted at me and I ended up knocking into a bookshelf-"

"Rather clumsy, wouldn't you say?" Mai's heart sank with Evangeline's words.

"In her defense," Lin piped up, sensing the tension, "I did startle her."

"Luella, this is delicious!" Madoka said, changing the subject. She smiled warmly at her friend. "You've really outdone yourself tonight!"

"Thank you, Madoka," the middle aged woman said with a smile. "I must admit though, I did have help." She nodded her head to the young woman next to her. "I ran into Evangeline at the market today and was telling her all about you two coming to visit and she insisted on helping me cook!"

"I bet you're not used to home cooking like this anymore, are you, Noll?" Evangeline quipped, Mai watched as the blonde made sure to touch Naru's arm.

This is going to be a long dinner, Mai internally sighed as she began picking at her plate. _Come on, eat something. You can't insult Luella after she went to such trouble._

 _But you can insult Evangeline._

Mai visibly shook her head of the thought. "You okay, Mai?" Martin asked, snapping her of her reverie.

"Yes, I'm fine," she replied with a wave of her hand. "I thought I had forgotten something before the flight but I know I didn't," she lied smoothly.

 _Besides, by the way she seems to cling to Naru I doubt she'd be offended if I didn't eat._ She resisted the urge to sigh as took another bite. _Hopefully, we can keep me out of the topic of conversation for a bit._

She passed a glance to Madoka who, if she had noticed the awkwardness of the situation, was damn good at hiding it. _Madoka, you_ will _give me answers!_

Dinner continued to commence on topics of Evangeline's choice, asking Naru how Japan is, how she missed him, how she's helping her father with his work. No one else seemed to keen on changing the topic and since Naru was already a man of few words, he wasn't about to throw in his two cents unless asked. They moved to the living room after dinner for dessert and tea. Mai was glad that she could pin her quietness on jetlag, but knew she couldn't use the excuse forever. "My, it's gotten late," Martin said, looking at the watch on his wrist. "I'm afraid I must turn in for the night. I need to be up early, Evangeline, what is your plan?"

"I suppose I better head home," the young blonde replied with a sad smile. "I also have to be up early-"

"Oh, Eve, just stay the night!" Luella urged, picking up the finished dessert plates. "You know where your room is and I have some pajamas I can give you. It's much too late for you to be driving."

"You know, I might have left my pajamas from the last time I stayed over," Evangeline replied with a smile. "If it's no imposition-"

"Of course not! You're always welcome here."

 _Her room?_ Mai had never felt so disheartened in her life. She was sitting on the couch next to her boyfriend, staring at her hands. _Who the hell_ is _she? Why does she have a room here? Why does she stay over so often to_ need _a room?_

A hand on her knee almost made her jump. She looked up at the boy next to her. "Are you okay?" he asked her quietly. Mai couldn't help but smile, because for a moment, just a moment, he made her forget why she was upset.

"I'm fine, just a little tired," she admitted. It wasn't a total lie. She was exhausted but she also wanted to lock Madoka in a closet and interrogate her.

"It _is_ almost midnight," Madoka said looking at her own watch. Mai really needed to invest in one. "Why don't we all head to bed? Tomorrow's a big day."

And that was how Mai ended up in her room completely wired. She had made note that at the very least Evangeline's room was on the other end of the hall and furthest from Naru's, that made her feel a little better. Unfortunately, it appeared that Madoka and Lin's room were on that side as well. _I guess I won't get to interrogate her after all,_ Mai thought bitterly.

She retrieved her laptop once she made it back to her room. Someone had left her the wifi password in the drawer of the desk and Mai happily logged in. She might not have been able to confront Madoka about this, but there was one person she could call and get some type of explanation.

She logged on to her email and quickly sent a message to said person. _Hey, good morning. You busy?_ Was all she wrote. She knew this person very well so there was no need to be formal.

After she sent the message she glanced at the time. It was just past midnight, meaning it was about nine in the morning in Tokyo. Hopefully, her message was received.

Still too wound up to even think about getting herself ready for bed, Mai busied herself by checking her emails. Keiko had sent her photos of her and Taiki's trip to Hawaii for their honeymoon. _They've been saving for that since high school,_ Mai thought with a smile.

The soft ping of her laptop alerted her of a new message and with a held breath, she went back to her inbox. Sure enough, there was a reply and it only took thirty minutes. _Hey, girl! How's England? How's the weather? Crappy, right? No, I'm not busy. Yasuhara and I got to the office about an hour ago and so far no one's walked in without an appointment. What's up?_

 _The sky is pretty gloomy, I'll admit. And in more ways than one. Do you have a minute to video chat?_ Mai replied, immediately grabbing her earbuds from her jacket's pocket.

Only a minute after she sent the message and plugged in her earbuds did said friend call her. Mai clicked the accept button and soon she was looking at the face of another brunette, one with much longer hair. "Hey, how're the wedding plans coming?" Mai asked once she heard the background noise of the SPR office. She was glad to finally be speaking in her native tongu

 _"I'm almost at the point where I want to elope, to be honest,"_ the girl joked with a shake of her head. _"But there's no point seeing as we only have a month to go, right Yasu?"_

Mai watched as a bespectacled man came up behind the brunette and bent over to be seen by that camera and waved. _"Hey, Mai, up past your bedtime aren't you?"_ he teased, Mai shook her head and smiled.

"Hi, Yasuhara," she replied. "Thanks for watching the office while we're gone. I know you guys are busy-"

" _It's no trouble, Mai,"_ Yasuhara said with a laugh. _"I think Kiko's welcoming the distraction right now."_

 _"As long as I don't have to deal with our mothers arguing over the place settings and colors of the napkins, I'm more than happy to deal with crazy cat ladies swearing their cat is possessed,"_ Kiko said. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. _"So what's up? It's like, what? One in the morning your time?"_

"Shouldn't one of you be watching the door?" Mai asked with a look in her eye.

Yasuhara held up his hands in surrender. _"Got it, girl talk. Have fun in England, Mai."_

"Are you in Naru's office?" Mai asked once she heard the door close.

 _"Yeah, ever sit in his chair? I can feel the power emanating off of it."_ She moved herself side to side in the swivel chair. _"So what's up? I know you didn't call to check in on the office. I'd expect that more from Noll."_

"Who's Evangeline?" Mai blurted before she could thing. She watched as Kiko's jaw dropped and brow furrowed.

 _"Eve's there!"_ Mai was so glad that she did plug in her earbuds. _"What the hell? She really doesn't know when to quit."_

"Who is she?" Mai pressed, leaving closer to the camera.

 _"Madoka didn't tell you? Or did she set this up? Wait that makes no sense, she can't stand her,"_ Kiko rambled, causing Mai to shake her head in annoyance.

"Kiko…" Her tone held warning.

 _"Okay, okay, long story short, she's a childhood friend."_ When Mai gave her a look she continued. _"A childhood friend who had an obsessive crush on him."_

" _Had_? You should have seen her at dinner." Mai wanted to groan, but also had to keep her voice down. She couldn't risk anyone waking up and overhearing her conversation. "Did…did Naru ever-"

 _"No."_ Mai couldn't finish her question and was glad that she didn't have to. _"Look, the last time I saw Eve she was four-eyed, metal mouthed, zit-face whiney brat that would cling to Noll every time she came over. He would ignore her but she never got the hint."_

"She doesn't look that way anymore," Mai sighed looking down at her hands. "She's beautiful-"

 _"And you're not?"_ The question stopped her. _"Mai, you may not have blonde hair or blue eyes or are as tall as Eve is, but that doesn't mean you aren't beautiful. Besides, I'm pretty sure beauty is the last thing on Noll's list of qualities for a partner. In your case, it's just an added perk to everything that you are."_

Mai's mouth molded to a small smile, but her eyes still looked sad. "Thanks for saying that, Kiko, but-"

 _"No buts, missy,"_ Kiko said with a hard look. _"You need to push these insecurities aside and remember that you're the reason Noll stays in Tokyo. If he were truly interested in Eve he would have brought her to Tokyo instead of bringing you to England to meet his parents. Maybe he's hoping that you'll be able to help him get Eve to back off."_

Mai's smile grew as her exhaustion set in. "Thanks, Kiko, you're right," she said with a yawn.

 _"Glad I could help, now go to bed!"_

"Good night, Kiko."

The next morning, Mai realized that she never really got any answers about Evangeline. She was kicking herself for that and for oversleeping as she hurried to get ready. By the time she reached the kitchen, it was almost lunchtime, she also found only Luella and Lin there having a cup of tea.

"Good morning, sweetie," Luella said cheerfully, as she crossed the room to grab another mug. "Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please," she said after a slight hesitation to remember which language to reply in. She took a seat at the island next to the tall Chinese man who had turned his attention to the newspaper in front of him.

"Sleep well?" his monotone voice asked as his eyes never left the paper. Mai shrugged.

"I suppose," she admitted then smiled at Luella who handed her the mug of tea. "My body isn't used to the time change so it took me a while to fall asleep."

"Don't worry, dear, you were also traveling yesterday and that will take a lot out of you," the woman said, picking up her own cup and taking a sip. "Martin took Oliver over to their client's place and I believe Evangeline and Madoka followed behind them."

 _Great, she'll be there too,_ Mai thought with an internal scowl. She kept her focus on the sweet liquid she sipped. _Why didn't they wait for me? Oh right, Naru's always all about business._

"I'll take you over after you've had something to eat," Lin said, his eyes still on the paper.

"I'm not very hungry, so we can always head out now. And it's almost lunchtime-"

"Oh, pish posh!" Luella exclaimed as she cracked an egg over the pan on the stove. "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and I'll be damned if I let my guest skip it!" She threw the shell into the sink. "Sunny side or over easy?"

Mere moments later, Mai had a huge plate of eggs, sausage, hash browns, and toast in front of her. Luella was a fabulous cook, don't get her wrong, it's just there was so much food and Mai wasn't sure she'd be able to finish it. Luckily, it appeared that Lin understood this and every time Luella left the room, he made sure to help Mai out with his fork.

Someone wants to get to the case, Mai noted as she wolfed down her food. She regretted eating so much so fast when they made it to the case site. _I don't have a good feeling_ , she thought as Lin pulled up the driveway.

"Due to the disappearances, I suggest that no one goes anywhere alone, while on the property," Martin explained just as Lin and Mai walked into the makeshift Base of the property. It wasn't too much different from the Bases she had been in in Japan. Although, it did look as though the equipment was newer.

 _Imagine that_ , Mai thought with amusement in her eyes, _Naru has to use the older models in Japan. Suddenly I don't feel bad about breaking that one camera._

"Disappearances?" she asked, bringing the attention of the room to herself.

"Didn't Noll tell you?" Evangeline asked with an almost concerned look in her eyes. "Three members of the staff have gone missing over the last few weeks. Before they did they each swore that something was following them."

"No, he didn't tell me," Mai shot a look over at Naru whose face remained impassive. Actually, he shot a look to his own father.

"I was unaware of the disappearances until this morning," Naru admitted.

 _Judging by that look, he's not lying,_ Mai noted with a sigh as she walked up to the monitors. According to the camera angles, they were going to be investigating not only the main building but the barn and lake in the backyard. _This is a lot of ground to cover._

"Martin, why don't I show Mai around?" Evangeline offered with a sickeningly sweet smile. "I can fill her in on the details that she might have missed."

"That's a great-"

"I'll do that," Naru interrupted with crossed arms. "It is partially my fault that she is uninformed about the case."

 _Naru admitting blame, huh?_ Mai thought with amusement. _Kiko was right, I really have nothing to worry about._

"Oh, Noll," the blonde laughed. The sound sent a shiver down the brunette's spine. "I was only teasing, you never could tell the difference even when we were kids. I don't mind showing her around, it'll give us a chance to get to know each other."

"She's right, Naru," Mai agreed, plastering a smile on her face. "I'd love to get to know Evangeline a little more."

"Excellent, meet back here within the hour," Martin decided as he turned his attention back to the file in his hand. "Remember to stick together."

Evangeline showed Mai around the building, told her where certain activity had been reported and even took her out to see the lake and barn so that she knew what they were dealing with. _At least she can pretend to be civil with me even when no one's around,_ Mai thought with some relief.

The relief faded as the wind sent a chill down her spine. "Here, there's one more place," Evangeline said leading the girl to a shed. As Mai walked into the small building she realized one thing very quickly, there were no cameras or microphones nearby. She was completely alone with this Englishwoman.

"Evangeline, I don't think this is really an area of import-"

"Oh shut up." And just like that, the woman's sweet demeanor was gone as she flipped the light switch.

"E-excuse me?" Mai internally cursed herself for stuttering.

"Did I stutter?" An evil gleam showed through her blue eyes as she smirked. "No, but you did." Mai held her breath as the woman stepped closer. "We need to have a little chat."

And Mai once again regretted having that big breakfast.

* * *

 **I do apologize for any grammatical errors I wanted to get this up tonight and I'll edit it later! Don't you hate Evangeline? I wonder just what she's going to say to Mai?**

 **I'm sorry if this seems rushed or too Mai centric, but I had to work very hard to keep this chapter so condensed! Otherwise I go too deep in details and I wanted to include the conversation in this chapter but it would have been too long if I did. Let me know what you think!**


	13. England Part 3

**Yay! Part 3! Two more parts to go for this little saga. Then I have a few little scenes that I know you guys are going to love! Also just to point out what some of you have said, it does seem like Luella is a little wary of Mai. Some of that is addressed in this chapter and more will be addressed in the next but one thing to keep in mind is that this little story is completely in Mai's point of view. She's meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time (well first time as his girlfriend) it's a scary and nerve-wracking experience and when there's another girl who is already practically a member of the family you start to doubt yourself. Plus Mai is completely out of her element and in a whole other continent. Anyway enjoy!**

* * *

13-England Part 3

"Just when did Evangeline start assisting you in your cases?" Naru asked, crossing his arms and looking at his father after his girlfriend left the room.

"Her father was supposed to be my partner in this case, however, his sister became ill and Evangeline offered to help in his stead," Martin explained simply, as he adjusted the settings on the monitors.

"You knew I was coming." Naru was not amused, he even shot a glance to Madoka and Lin. "You also knew I was bringing Mai. That was never a secret."

"What do you want me to say, Oliver?" Martin was not in the mood for this. He may have been more charismatic than his adopted son, but one thing they definitely had in common was the fact that they were both workaholics. "It's not my fault she came to dinner last night, you have your mother to blame for that."

"I'm not saying it's anyone's fault." If there was ever a time where Oliver Davis wanted to roll his eyes, now was the time. "I'm just saying a little warning would have been great."

"I did try to warn you!" Madoka exclaimed exasperatedly throwing her arms up.

"No, you told me you had nothing to do with what was about to happen."

"I wanted to warn you, but there was no way to get you both alone before dinner and I wasn't about to wake you up from your nap," Madoka defended, crossing her arms. "And Eve would not stop talking my ear off when I saw her."

"Are you worried Mai will get jealous?" Martin asked with a raised brow, eyeing his son.

"I'm worried she'll get the wrong idea." Naru shook his head.

* * *

"We need to have a little chat." Evangeline's sweet façade disintegrated now that they were alone. Mai took a silent breath to calm her racing heart. "I don't know who you think you are, but," She eyed the young woman up and down with disgust, "you're not really Noll's type."

Mai had to hold back a laugh that rose in her throat. She couldn't be serious. "And you would know?" Mai couldn't keep the smirk off her face. This was ridiculous.

"I'm just saying, it's not like you have a visible connection." The blonde shrugged. "I just don't see this lasting and I wanted to let you know before you get hurt."

"Out of the kindness of your heart, I'm sure," Mai answered, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "And this wouldn't have anything to do with your little crush on him?" She watched the shift in the woman's eyes, Mai had struck a chord. "Or did you think I didn't notice?"

"Look," Evangeline replied, undeterred. "I know you're his assistant and I know Noll knows better than to personally involve himself with coworkers, much less employees, but he's just a man. I can accept that even the Great Oliver Davis may need to settle his…urges."

Fury boiled in the pit of Mai's stomach. She hated hearing such a thing being implied about her boyfriend, especially since they hadn't even slept together yet. Unless you counted falling asleep on the couch at the office. Or that one case years ago? When they had to pretend to be a married couple? No one was happy that case.

"What I want you to understand, is that our families have been friends for a very long time. I was the one who welcomed him and his brother to England when they were adopted. I was his friend first. That in of itself is more intimate than anything you two will ever have."

"Well, have you gotten to share a bed with him?" She regretted the words the moment she said them. Nothing happened on that case, aside from waking up in his arms, but she wasn't so sure that wasn't a dream. It was a stupid thing to bring up, it only confirmed Evangeline's theory.

"Regardless, I was there for him when Gene died. From what I hear you had no idea for years that he even had a brother, let alone who he was."

"Well, I was there when we found Gene's body," Mai retorted. "I saw him off when he went back to England." Even though it wasn't quite as romantic as she implied. She took a step further into the shed. "He came back to Japan and found me, but it's like you said, I'm _just_ his assistant." She tried her best to summon enough venom in her voice to shake the pompous Brit, but just fell short as she turned to leave the shed.

"Just so you know, Noll would never have gone to find Gene's body if I hadn't convinced him." Mai stopped in her tracks as she reached for the doorknob. A cold chill went down her spine. "Or did you not know that he was uncomfortable with his psychic connection to Gene?" Mai swallowed hard. "I know Madoka thinks you two might have a psychic connection, but you're better off just breaking up now before you get hurt. Noll doesn't need a connection, he needs a wife." Her tone was matter of fact as she spoke. There was no need for her to throw in venom, her words were toxic enough. "Someone he doesn't have to worry about getting into his head like his brother could. And you're not that."

Mai held her breath. If she dared let it out, she wouldn't be able to control the emotion let out with it. It seemed that Evangeline was done, as she brushed past the brunette to the door. She gave a wicked grin as she brushed Mai's hand away.

"If your connection gets much stronger, he's going to pull away. So don't get too attached Mai Taniyama-oops! Too late!" The laugh she gave would echo in Mai's mind for a long time. The blonde was almost out the door when she stopped. "Oh! And by the way, don't call him Naru anymore. You haven't earned that right. Only one person called him that and it's not you."

Mai bit the inside of her cheek so hard it bled. She needed the distraction as she followed the blonde out. They left together, they had to go back together. She couldn't let anyone get suspicious. She couldn't wait to get back to the mansion and call Kiko or Ayako. Someone. Anyone. What time was it in Tokyo again?

* * *

It was late by the time they drove back to the mansion. The day had been filled with information about the case. Luckily it was just the distraction that Mai needed. Unfortunately, not much seemed to happen throughout the day and Evangeline insisted on being partnered with either her or Naru all day. Despite the distraction of the case, Mai's chest felt tight and heavy, like she were on the verge of sobbing all day.

Back at the mansion, Luella had prepared another phenomenal meal for the crew. Mai felt horrible that she had no appetite, but ate the meal anyway. It sat like lead in her belly. She excused herself for the evening, intent on a hot shower and a conversation with someone in Tokyo.

So Mai found herself with her hair in a towel, in front of her computer, quietly explaining her ordeal with Evangeline earlier that day. She was praying that the walls were thick enough for no one to eavesdrop. _"She did what! That bitch! I'm going to kill her!"_ Ayako was the first to respond as she stomped around the background of Mai's computer screen. She was glad she had her earbuds plugged in.

 _"You need to tell Madoka! Eve's a bitch and can't get away with telling you that!"_ Kiko agreed, also shouting at this point.

"I will, if I can get her alone," Mai replied with a breath. Her chest still felt heavy and she knew why. She needed to know. "Is it true?"

That stopped both women from their rants. " _Is what true?"_ Ayako repeated, eyes darting between the two brunettes.

"What she said. About their connection?" Mai wasn't sure there weren't listeners on the other side of the wall and kept names out of her conversation. When she saw Kiko bite her lip, Mai's heart sank further.

 _"Kiko…"_ Ayako's tone held that of warning.

 _"In short? Yes,"_ Kiko admitted, watching Mai's head look down. _"But you need to understand the type of connection that they shared. They would telepathically bounce their abilities back and forth in order to do whatever PK they were demonstrating."_

" _And Naru wasn't comfortable with this?"_ Ayako pressed with crossed arms.

" _You also need to remember that I hung out more with Gene when I would spend summers there,"_ Kiko explained, giving a sympathetic look to Mai. _"Naru preferred to be alone and Eve would insist on spending time with him, so I don't know if he told her anything. I don't see why he would-"_

"Unless he trusted her…" Mai remarked bitterly. Ayako shot a look to Kiko.

 _"Look, I remember one day Gene and I were just hanging out by the lake and he told me he hated his ability that he shared with Naru."_ Mai's head perked up a little. _"They had a telepathic connection but not one of thoughts, more like images. Growing up, before Lin came around to help them control their abilities, Gene would get random flashes of what Naru was thinking."_

 _"And that made him uncomfortable,"_ Ayako finished with a solemn nod.

 _"Naru's a very private person. He doesn't tell you anything about himself unless asked and comfortable enough to reveal that information,"_ Kiko added with a nod. _"Even after Lin taught them to control their abilities, Gene would still get random bits of things Naru was thinking. It caused him to become even more closed off. He was distancing himself from Gene and Gene felt guilty. When he died, I guess Naru felt guilty, too."_

"Did she convince him to go?" Mai's hands were trembling. Her voice was a mere whimper. She didn't want to hear any more. Yet she needed to. "Did Eve convince him to find his body?"

 _"I can't answer that,"_ Kiko replied honestly, earning a jab from the priestess. _"Ow! What I mean is I can't answer that, because I don't know. The last time I was in England was two years before Gene died and I haven't been back since."_

The priestess raised a brow. _"You didn't go to his funeral?"_ The girl shook her head.

" _I couldn't bring myself to do it. I regret it now, but back then I just wasn't ready."_ The girl looked at her screen and saw Mai's head bent down. _"Mai?"_

"I-I think I'm gonna turn in. It's been a long day," she admitted with a sad smile.

 _"Mai, remember,"_ Kiko said, stopping the girl from ending the call. _"Naru came back to Japan to find you. You're a big reason why he stays here instead of living in England."_

"Thanks, Kiko," Mai said with sadness in her eyes. "But we both know there are just more interesting hauntings in Japan compared to England. That's why he stays."

Mai ended the call before either woman on the other end could stop her. "I knew coming here wasn't a good idea," she muttered bitterly as she got ready for bed.

* * *

The next morning, Mai put on a brave face and met the group for breakfast. She was silently grateful that Evangeline decided to go back to her own home the night before. Despite her lack of an appetite, she made sure to finish her plate and compliment Luella on her work. _That's weird, I feel like she doesn't like me too much,_ Mai noted as she got into Martin's car. Then a terrifying thought popped in her head.

 _What if Luella is hoping Naru falls for Evangeline?_ She could feel the color drain from her face as she processed the thought. _I knew I shouldn't have gone here._

"Mai?" Her head shot up at the sound of her name and the hand on her knee. She turned to come face to face with a pair of concerned looking indigo eyes. "Is everything alright?"

 _No_. "Yes," she said with a smile. "I was just thinking about the case."

She internally cursed herself for the lame excuse and the fact that Naru obviously didn't buy any of it. But he didn't respond other than a nod and continued looking out the window. Mai had never felt as homesick as she did in that moment. What she wouldn't do to be back in Tokyo among her "family."

Soon Martin pulled up to the estate. Madoka and Lin pulled up behind them. It appeared that by the third car in the driveway, Evangeline had already made it there. _Great_ , Mai internally groaned.

"Evangeline," Martin said once the group walked into their Base, "when I said it was dangerous to be here alone, you were not an exception." The blonde was making notes on a clipboard. She looked up and smiled.

"I know, but I wanted to get a head start on today. I didn't leave Base, I assure you," she said smoothly.

"And if you disappeared as well?" Martin was still not amused.

 _Naru, you're more like your father than I realized,_ Mai noticed amusedly as she remembered another case.

"Noll would be able to save me," she replied with a wink.

 _And that is almost the exact same response Madoka had given Naru during the Urado case,_ Mai thought, biting her tongue and keeping her face calm. She couldn't let Naru know that Evangeline's comments affected her this way. _Hell, he probably already knows. But you have to keep a good impression!_

"So, I spent last night doing a little research into the property." Madoka changed the subject swiftly as she sat down into one of the chairs and pulled out her notebook. "Turns out that our owner didn't purchase the property until last year and it was only about a month ago that he officially moved in with his staff."

"Why did it take him so long to move in?" Mai asked, taking a seat.

"Issues with his now ex-wife, go figure," the woman shrugged, turning the page. "Now, prior to that the property had been owned by a Clifford McDowell. He passed away about twenty years ago and left the estate to his only son, Mason. This is where it starts to get weird."

"Keep going, Madoka." Naru was not in the mood to play this game.

"He had always been known to be depressed and apparently his father's death was the last straw." Another page flipped. "It's believed that he committed suicide shortly after the estate was made in his name."

"What do you mean, 'it's believed?'" Mai asked with her head to the side.

"I mean there was no body ever recovered." The woman sighed and turned one more page. "He left one night into the woods and never returned. He didn't take his car or keys or money or well, anything. Just the clothes on his back. All that was left was a note on his coffee table saying, 'I can't do this anymore!'"

"So Mason was the first disappearance," Evangeline determined with a solemn look on her face. "And I'm assuming there wasn't another occupant in the house until our client, Maxwell Jacobs, and even when he had renovators come in and fix everything, there wasn't a disappearance until people started living here again."

"That's right, we have a total of four unsolved disappearances," Madoka said with a breath. "Mason's was ruled a suicide thanks to the note, however the other three staff members…"

"Is it possible that Mason's disappearance was really a suicide and his spirit is causing the disappearances now?" Mai piped up. "The three disappearances that we know about happened very quickly. I'm getting the feeling that there were more that we have yet to find out because they might not be directly associated with the property."

"That seems a little far fetched, don't you think?" Evangeline answered with a raised brow. Naru turned to his girlfriend.

"Is this your intuition talking?" he asked. Mai knew exactly what he meant. _Did you have a vision?_ Were his unspoken words.

"It's my intuition telling me we're missing something. And my logical side giving me options to look into," she replied with a smirk. _Eve may not believe in me, but at least Naru does. And, almost, always has._

"I'm going to head into town, then," Madoka decided, turning to her husband for the keys. "I'll see if there are any unsolved disappearances in the surrounding area close enough to possibly involve the property."

"Make a note of disappearances where the body was found," Naru added as Madoka stood up. "If Mai's right and Mason's spirit is behind the disappearances, we just might find where those people went."

"Will do, once I have a list of bodies found and still missing we'll be able to look for a pattern." With that the cheerful woman was out the door and onto her mission.

"In the meantime, why don't Noll and I take a look at the attic?" Evangeline offered, placing her clipboard on the table. "Perhaps we could hold an E.V.P. session up there and see what we might find."

Mai felt the air around her changed slightly. It wasn't much, not as though a spirit had entered bent on destruction. No, this was subtle. A small pressure change. Like her boyfriend didn't want to be paired up with the blonde investigator.

"Actually, why don't I go with him," Mai offered, giving her warmest smile. "We work very well together and we might be able to find something if we're paired up."

"Noll has mentioned you two work well as a team," Martin quipped. Mai enjoyed the strain on Evangeline's features a little too much. _Take that, you pompous Brit._

"Very well," Naru said. Instantly the odd pressure change had ceased. And Naru took Mai's hand as they left the room.

 _That's odd, he never wants to hold my hand in public,_ Mai thought as she followed him. _Wait, culture check, PDA isn't taboo in England like it is in Japan._ She determined and hid her smirk as she realized something else. _Someone wants Eve to leave them alone. I should have listened to Kiko._

Together, they walked up to the second floor and then to the attic, which was connected by a set of stairs rather than a ladder. Once they were alone, Naru closed the door and let out a breath. "This…" he began as he turned back around. He may have been a workaholic but even he understood that sometimes little moments could be stolen during stressful cases. "…isn't how I expected this case to go."

"Didn't expect your ex-girlfriend to be working on the same case?" she teased, despite her smile she hoped there was enough bite in her words. He could have warned her about Evangeline before they took off. Then again, maybe she wouldn't have gone.

"She's not my ex," Naru spat, but shook his head and softened his features. "We were never together, I mean. She's-"

"Her family is friends with yours and your fathers work together, I get it," Mai replied shaking her head with a smile. When she saw the question in his eyes she crossed her arms. "Our first night I called Kiko and she explained it to me since I couldn't discreetly get ahold of Madoka. Remind me to wring her neck, would you?"

"You can count me in on that." He had the softest smile as he spoke. She realized that this was the first moment they truly had alone since their first day in the country. She wasn't going to waste it.

"You know, we've hardly really seen each other the last two days, with the case and your parents-"

"As soon as this case is over I'm taking you sightseeing," he interrupted, his smile growing larger. "Some days my parents will join us, but mostly-"

"Naru, did you actually plan a real vacation?" She couldn't help but giggle as she spoke. His smile only confirmed her suspicions, but it faded when he pulled out a small voice recorder.

"Shall we?" Mai nodded as they headed in further into the attic. Naru found a small dusty table and placed the device on it. Despite the red light blinking Mai couldn't help but speak the thought that came to mind.

"For someone who only just moved in, it's really dusty up here." She could have smacked herself for speaking when they were supposed to be investigating, but it seemed Naru might have thought the same.

"It looks like nothing's moved in here for quite sometime. After Mason McDowell died, Madoka didn't mention anything about family taking over the house or its belongings." He turned his attention back to the recorder. "Jacobs Estate, attic, Oliver."

"Mai." Mai waited a moment before taking a breath. "Is there anyone here with us?"

Waiting a few beats, Naru added, "Is the spirit of either Clifford or Mason McDowell residing on the property?"

Listening intently to the silence, Mai tried to pick up on something, anything. But the room was completely soundless, aside from their breathing. There was nothing in there. _Well, I think I know why Eve wanted to do an E.V.P. session up here,_ Mai thought bitterly. _Good thing I stopped it._

A few more questions were asked between the two investigators before Naru looked and read Mai's eyes. "End of E.V.P. session." He clicked off the recorder and looked to his girlfriend. "You're not sensing anything?"

Mai put her finger to her chin in thought. Was she really sensing nothing? Or was she sensing _nothing_? "No, it's not that. The silence in between our questions didn't feel normal." Her brow furrowed as she looked into his indigo eyes. "I mean, none of our sessions have ever gone that smoothly, especially in a decades old attic. There should have been a creak of the boards settling or something. A draft. A squirrel running across the roof."

"You're right," Naru agreed with a nod. He assumed his thinking pose. "So is this where our spirits hide or-Mai?"

He had turned to look at her but her eyes were dazed. She no longer saw him as she swayed side to side. Her eyes rolled back as she fell forward almost too quickly for Naru to catch her. "Mai!"

* * *

 **Hope you guys enjoyed! Please leave a review!**


	14. England Part 4

**Part 4! I hope everyone enjoys this one! There's just one more chapter of this little saga and then we will be back to the one-shots. I wrote this 5-parter because a lot of you requested Mai's first trip to England and a single one-shot didn't seem to do the idea any justice. Thank you guys for your reviews and views! I greatly appreciate it! Enjoy!**

* * *

14-England Part 4

"What happened?" Martin asked as Naru carried in his unconscious girlfriend. "Eve, get off the couch."

Evangeline stood up and backed away. "Did something scare her _that_ bad?" she asked with a raised brow as Naru placed Mai on the couch. "Rather unprofessional."

Naru ignored that jab, for the most part. "Mai's been known to have psychic visions in her dreams." He straightened himself up before sitting down on the edge of the couch. "While for the most part the visions come when she's asleep at night or napping, but when we first started working together it wasn't uncommon to find her passed out in a chair when she was supposed to be watching Base."

"How long do these visions last?" Martin asked from his seat.

"Anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours," Naru admitted, keeping his eyes on the girl. He never saw how Evangeline's eyes hardened at the sight.

"Well, if this is a common enough occurrence and she seems to be fine, why don't we continue working?" Evangeline suggested, a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "Noll, you and I could-"

"I'll stay here in Base and make _sure_ Mai's okay," Naru finished for her. The look in his eyes was almost icy when he spoke to the blonde, but it softened significantly when looked back at Mai.

"I'll stay here as well," Martin decided. "Eve, you and Lin can do a temperature sweep. We'll compare the data to last night's." The two investigators nodded and left. Martin gave his adopted son a look.

The younger man raised a brow in a look of confusion back. "What?"

"When do you plan to break the news that your stay in Japan will be permanent? Your mum isn't going to be happy."

"I never said my stay wasn't permanent."

"Interesting…" Whatever the older man meant by that, he didn't say. He turned back to the monitors and looked for anything out of the ordinary.

* * *

 _"Mai…" A very familiar voice spoke. "Mai, open your eyes." The voice was so gentle in its command, Mai responded very slowly. She found herself staring at a much younger version of her boyfriend with very slight differences that she has come to see over the years. Seeing the indigo glow behind the young man, Mai knew exactly where she was._

 _"Gene," Mai said with a smile as the deceased boy helped her into a sitting position. It had been a while since the last time she saw him. "So you're still my assigned spirit guide?"_

 _"It appears that way, hope that isn't an issue for you." Gene smiled back as they slowly stood up. "How's your visit to England been?"_

 _It was then that Mai realized they were both speaking in English, something she wasn't used to doing in the astral plane. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm pretty sure you already know how's it's been. I'm pretty sure Luella hates me."_

 _"Give her a chance." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "You're the only girl he's ever brought home."_

 _"And how many_ men _has he brought home?" They both laughed at her comment. Mai sighed again. "Seriously, though, Eve seems to have called dibs on your brother and she's not letting go. And I think your mom's rooting for her."_

 _Gene laughed harder than Mai had ever seen before and she was_ not _amused. "Sorry, but you're over thinking this. Once you guys finish this case you'll find my mother is much easier to get along with when there isn't a dangerous spirit threatening her family."_

 _"Speaking of," Mai redirected. "Isn't there something you're supposed to show me?"_

 _"I suppose I should show you," he smirked and turned to the shifting scene behind him. They were in a forest Mai didn't recognize._

 _"Please don't go in there, it makes my flesh crawl," a woman spoke in a thick English accent. She appeared to be talking with her husband at the edge of what must have been their farm._

" _You worry too much, only old man McDowell's son ever died in this forest and that was almost a year ago. I'll be back before you have supper on the table," the man replied with a laugh. He kissed his wife and headed into the woods. The scene flashed to the same spot, but hours later._

" _He never came back, did he?" Mai asked, looking up at Gene. She already knew how this vision would end. The man's wife would stand outside and wait until dawn before she would go to the police. The police would never find a body. This was the first official victim, one year after Mason's death._

 _Gene shook his head and the scene faded away and they were once again alone in the purple glow. "After this victim, there wasn't another disappearance for another two years. You were right when you said there were more than three disappearances, this one occurred on the other side of the forest where a small farm still stands."_

 _"We need to find the bodies, don't we?" Mai realized, her eyes widening. "Mason's body was never found, could he be wanting a proper burial or something?"_

 _Gene only shrugged. "It's possible, then again I thought that that's what it would take to lay my spirit to rest, but here we are," he teased, Mai nudged him._

 _"I don't think either of us planned on you being my permanent guide," Mai answered with a smile. Her smile faded only seconds later. "Hey, what do I have to do to get your mom to like me? Or at least to not hate me?" Gene couldn't help but laugh. Mai pouted at him. "This isn't a joke, Gene!"_

 _"I know, forgive me," he said shaking his head. "It's not very hard to get on her good side, actually. Try offering to help with something. Like dishes."_

 _"Seriously?" Mai raised a brow._

" _Wouldn't you be happy if someone offered to help you with a chore?" Mai looked up in thought as the deceased man chuckled. "You're doing just fine. Just stop trying so hard and be yourself and things will work out. I promise."_

" _Thanks, Gene."_

* * *

"They should be back soon, we'll be able to compare the data and perhaps see if there was any changes in the temperature in the attic from this time yesterday," Mai heard Martin say as her head swam out into consciousness.

 _Naru must have brought me to Base_ , Mai thought as she slowly opened her eyes. She groaned as she tried to sit up. "Jeez, what happened to me?" she asked in Japanese, rubbing her eyes. Naru helped steady her as he sat on the edge of the couch.

"You passed out in the attic," he answered in Japanese as well. "We finished the session and then-"

"We were talking about how there were no noises during it," Mai remembered, snapping her fingers. "I felt cold and the next thing I knew I was with Gene and-"

"Did she just say Gene?" A voice startled the couple from the doorway. Evangeline was standing there with Lin as Martin mentally tried to figure it out himself. "I don't speak Japanese, but I swear to God she just said Gene's name."

 _Shit, time to come clean,_ Mai thought as she opened her mouth to speak, but Naru seemed more willing to take care of it.

"Gene is one of Mai's spirit guides," he explained, switching back to English. "He was the reason why Mai's psychic abilities became active rather than latent. When she has a vision one of her guides is there to make sure she focuses on important details."

"So, she knows Gene? She speaks to Gene?" Mai could see the fury behind Evangeline's eyes and honestly started to pity her.

"Yes, Eve," Mai answered with a nod. "It's not as often as it used to be, but usually Gene helps walk me through my visions."

"He's supposed to be at peace…" And there it was, betrayal. She had been lied to, Mai knew. And Mai also knew what that felt like.

"That's what we all thought," Mai replied with a sigh. "Turns out certain spirits are meant to be guides for spiritualists among the living. Gene happens to be one of them and I'm apparently the one he needs to guide."

"What happened in your vision?" Naru asked, changing the subject. Mai understood why he would want to move on, Gene was still a bit of a sore subject. So she explained what happened in her vision, she saw a look of almost relief flood Evangeline's face. Mai watched as the blonde suppressed a laugh.

"That's basically the same thing you told us before you fainted," Evangeline said with crossed arms. "This time you added details, but you have no proof-"

"Madoka does," Lin retorted. "She called me a little while ago to tell me she hit pay dirt with other disappearances. After Mason's suicide a Winslow Harris went missing almost a year later. Madoka's doing more research, but Mai's onto something."

* * *

The rest of the day went smoothly, no ghostly attacks, but sadly no new information to help solve the case. After the research Madoka did, they found twelve total disappearances where the bodies were never found, at least one year between each one. The three staff members that went missing happened one after another presumably because there was now an occupant in the house. Evangeline wasn't feeling well and said she would head home early for the day, but promising to be back bright and early the next day.

The rest of the team didn't stay long at the property and soon were back at the Davis mansion eating the supper that Luella had made. The atmosphere seemed lighter compared to the last couple of days and Mai could only chock it up to Evangeline's absence at the table. Not that Mai minded. At all.

Luella was clearing the table, when the memory of a voice flitted through Mai's mind. _Wouldn't you be happy if someone offered to help you with a chore?_ She swore she felt something nudge her to stand up. "Luella, would you like some help with the dishes?" she asked, though she could have sworn she felt Gene's approval of the situation. _Gene, stop meddling!_

"Oh Mai, that's not-" But Luella stopped and looked at the amount of dishes she was about to do. "Actually, that would great! Glad someone around here can attempt to be helpful." The woman eyed the three men still sitting at the table.

"Hey, I offer to help all the time," Martin said, earning a scowl from his wife.

"Offering to lick the bowl after I make brownies does not count as washing dishes." The woman rolled her eyes.

"It's clean before it even makes it into the sink."

"C'mon, Mai," Luella said with a shake of her head and headed for the kitchen.

Mai smiled and followed the woman. _Maybe getting her to like me won't be so hard after all._

Luella decided she would wash and Mai would dry and together they would put everything away. They began the job in silence, starting with the plates. Luella scrubbed and rinsed them before placing them in the drying rack. Mai would pick them up and dry them before placing them aside on the counter.

"Mai, I have to be honest with you," Luella said, breaking the silence after a few minutes. Mai was almost sure it was because she heard the rest of the group migrate to the living room. "When Noll said he was bringing you with him for his visit, I didn't know what to think."

 _Great, here we go. She really does hate me,_ Mai internally groaned but continued drying.

"When Oliver would come home he would mostly keep the topic of discussion on whatever case Martin was working on. Or sometimes whatever might have been going on over here. Then he mentioned you and some of the cases you've worked on and the fact he was talking about Japan at all was odd. The fact that he was talking about a girl? It was even stranger."

Mai had to concentrate hard when it came to drying, her hands were starting to shake. She couldn't afford to drop one of the plates now. _Naru told her about me? I always figured it was Madoka who would tell her._

"I had always figured that Gene would be the one to start a family one day and Noll would become the family scholar," Luella continued as she washed the cups. "After Gene's death, I had given up any hope of grandchildren one day. I had thought after his body was found, Noll would come back home to stay." The woman sighed and looked out the window into the backyard. "That's all I wanted. I wanted Gene's body found and returned home as well, but I wanted Noll to stay here. Japan took one of my sons, I didn't want to lose the other."

 _She was worried I'd take him away…_ Mai realized as her throat felt tight. "Luella, I-"

"Please, let me explain myself," she said with another breath. "I didn't want to like you. I thought that if maybe I didn't like you then Noll would realize his place was here in England and would leave Madoka and Lin to handle the SPR branch in Japan." She stopped washing and turned to Mai with tears in her eyes. "Then I met you and saw the way Noll would look at you. I can honestly say that I've never seen him so happy."

Mai's eyes started to burn as they threatened tears. _At least I know she wasn't trying to set him up with Evangeline._

"And I realized I was being selfish," the woman continued, still looking at the girl. "All I wanted was Noll to come home, but I never considered that maybe he had found his home with you. I'm sorry that I never gave you a fair chance, I hope we can start fresh now."

Mai grinned and couldn't help but giggle. "I'd like that, maybe after we're finished the case you, me, and Madoka could spend time together." The woman's eyes lit up as she pulled her hands out of the soapy water.

"And I would love that!" She held her arms up. "Come here, you're a member of the family now!" She wrapped the girl in a hug as they both erupted in giggles as Luella tried to keep the bubbles off of the younger girl.

The two went back to dishes and getting to know each other, but neither one of them saw the smiling figure that stood just outside the doorway. The figured stepped back quietly and headed back to the living room. She took a seat next to the young researcher and leaned over to whisper in Japanese, "I think things are going to be just fine."

* * *

When Mai went to bed, she didn't feel the urge to call Kiko or Ayako, even though she knew they would want an update. So Mai figured they would just have to settle for an email. So after she had gotten ready for bed she sat at her laptop and composed a little note to both parties now involved with her love life despite behind thousands of miles away.

 _Hey guys,_

 _Things have gotten better. Eve went home from the case early so things weren't as tense. I think Naru was happy that she left. She tried to pair herself with him, but Naru said he wanted to be paired with me. I'm sorry I was being so insecure the last couple of days, you guys were right. I don't have anything to worry about._

 _Good night!_

Mai sent the email and closed her laptop. She crawled into bed happy that everything seemed to finally fall into place. It was looking like, while Evangeline thought that Naru was using her to satisfy his "urges" as she put it, the rest of the family knew otherwise. And Mai was finally starting to feel like she belonged.

She closed her eyes and finally fell asleep. A peaceful sleep at that, one filled with dreams of her potential future with her boyfriend. For once, she gladly welcomed her dreams.

* * *

The following day greeted Mai with a little sunshine and an odd feeling. She couldn't quite shake it as she showered and readied herself for the day. She came downstairs to find Naru sitting by the counter going over his notes of the case while eating breakfast.

"Morning," Mai said as she sat down next to him. Luella slid a plate full of food in front of Mai with a grin.

"Morning, sweetie, sleep well?" the older woman asked. Mai nodded as she ate.

"Yes, I did, where's everyone else?"

"Father went to the property because Evangeline said she would get there early to make up for leaving yesterday," Naru explained, pushing his plate aside. "We'll be riding with Lin and Madoka."

His phone rang and he excused himself to answer it, leaving his plate to be taken care of by his mother. The woman rolled her eyes and shook her head. "It's like he's ten again, needing someone to clean up after him. I hope you beat it out of him soon," she teased as Mai giggled between bites.

"For the most part he's good about cleaning up after himself, believe it or not," she answered as Naru came back with a frown. "What's wrong?"

"That was my father," Naru answered, sliding his phone into his pocket. "Evangeline went to the property earlier than he thought."

"What aren't you saying, Noll? Just spit it out," Luella said with a hard look at her adopted son.

"She's nowhere to be found. She disappeared like the employees."

* * *

 **I've read a lot of fics where Luella immediately takes a liking to Mai and immediately wants Naru to marry her and for whatever reason, it didn't feel right to me. I genuinely feel that Luella would just want her son to be happy, but at the same time wished that they both had the same idea of happiness. I know a few of you were worried that Luella wasn't going to like Mai and I hope you feel satisfied with how it played out.**

 **Now Evangeline is missing and they have to find her? How will Mai handle that? Find out next time!**


	15. England Part 5

**Well here it is, the long awaited finale of the England trip! I hope no one is disappointed with this ending. Enjoy!**

* * *

15-England Part 5

The drive to the property felt like an eternity, as Lin drove the group in silence. At least Mai was able to identify the odd feeling she woke up with. _I guess my intuition was trying to warn me about this,_ she thought as they pulled up to the property.

She had a small nagging thought that maybe Evangeline was faking this. That she simply hid so that Naru would have to go looking for her. But she swallowed the thought when she remembered the case where Masako was taken by Urado. If there was the slightest chance that the spirits had chosen her as their next victim, Mai couldn't allow pettiness to determine life or death.

Once they reached Base, they found Martin reviewing the tapes, cursing under his breath as he did. "I told her to not come here alone," he muttered, adding something about how the girl's father was going to him. "It looks like she arrived around seven and then around seven thirty she left Base. I came in a little after eight so she's been missing ninety minutes at least."

"Did you find out where she went after she left Base?" Mai offered. "If we have a general direction of where she could have gone then we have a basic idea of where to look."

Martin shook his head. "After I searched the house for her I started checking the cameras. The most I could find was here going out back toward the forest and then the camera went to snow. We have an entire forest to search."

Mai's stomach felt like lead after what Martin said. _There's no way she could have only erased the footage of one camera and snuck back out to hide,_ Mai realized as she bit her lip. _She's really missing and could very well be dead by now-_

 _Evangeline is alive._

And there it was. Her intuition as most would call it. Over the years, Mai had learned to fully trust this instinct, if it was telling her that Evangeline was alive, then she was going to believe it.

"Let's split up," Madoka suggested. "Martin, you'll stay here and keep an eye on things in case she does come back." No one looked hopeful of that thought. "Lin and I will take the left side of the lake, you two can take the right side. She has a head start, but hopefully we can get somewhere in finding her before it gets dark."

Unfortunately, luck was not on their side. Naru made sure Mai was close to him as they searched the forest. By the tension she could see in his jaw muscle, she knew he was worried. And if he was anything like the man she fell in love with, he most likely felt somewhat responsible. So she looked up at him as she laced her fingers with his and said, "We're going to find her, Naru."

It took him a moment to realize she spoke in Japanese, but he looked at her with an almost amused look in his eyes. "Your intuition?"

She smirked and shook her head. "No, my _determination_."

They continued to search until the sun started going down, then they decided to regroup in Base and come up with a plan. "We have plenty of flashlights, I'm willing to search all night if we have to," Madoka said as they munched on sandwiches Luella had packed for them.

"We need an actual plan," Naru retorted, crossing his arms. Mai almost rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's too soon to file a missing person's report, right?" Mai answered, putting her sandwich down. Lin nodded in confirmation. "So our only option is to continue blindly searching the forest."

Martin turned to his son, holding out a small pocketbook. "Oliver, can you see if she's still alive?" he asked. Naru reached over and held the bag, closing his eyes.

Mai watched as a wave of relief passed over her boyfriend, not that anyone else noticed the change of emotion. "She's alive, for now."

"Wait a minute!" Mai exclaimed as an idea came to her. She smacked her forehead for not thinking of this sooner. "I know how to find her!"

"Out with it, Mai!" Madoka exclaimed.

"I can project-"

 _"No."_ Naru's voice was stern and cold. It sent a shiver down everyone's spine, but only cause Mai to scowl.

"As in astral projection?" Martin clarified, his chin in his hand. Mai nodded, ignoring her boyfriend's glares.

"Yes, most of my visions occur on the astral plane. I managed to find a friend of ours when a spirit attacked her," Mai explained, shooting a look to her boyfriend. "Normally, one of my guides pulls me into the plane, but I have been able to get there on my own-"

"And it nearly killed you," Naru interrupted, the look in his eyes was hard. "Or have you forgotten?"

"And you using your PK has nearly killed _you,"_ Mai spat back, her heart racing. "Or have _you_ forgotten?"

"I at least know my limits, we have no idea where that line is drawn with you."

"Well, no time like the present to try it out, right?" She smirked and his eyes narrowed.

"The problem last time was," Lin interrupted from his seat, finally deciding to referee, "when she went to the astral plane while still conscious even with a life line, she started to lose consciousness because she was there too long."

"As long as you keep me grounded and I have one of my guides, I'll be just fine," Mai argued, looking at Naru.

"Are you sure you can find her this way?" Martin asked, Mai nodded.

"It's our best shot," she said, turning back to Naru she spoke in Japanese. "I don't know her well and honestly, I wasn't a fan of hers when I arrived. But I'm not going to let her die because I didn't try hard enough!"

Naru closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He reached over and took Mai's hand. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Mai nodded. "Fine, but the moment I feel you slip I'm pulling you back."

"Fine." Mai agreed and took a deep breath before closing her eyes. _Please, help me find her._

* * *

 _When Mai opened her eyes she was no longer in Base surrounded by the team. She could still feel the pressure of Naru's hand, but knew she was no longer next to him._ "Mai, where are you now?" _she heard his voice say, but it sounded so far away, like an echo._

 _Mai surveyed the area around her. "I'm in the forest," she answered, but knew it most likely came out as a whisper._

"Do you see Evangeline?" _Mai shook her head, knowing her physical action was much slower_.

 _"No, but I know I'm no far from her." She blinked her eyes and saw a familiar face. "I see Gene."_

"Does he want you to follow him?" _She nodded_. "Follow him, Mai. Quickly."

 _Mai ran after the spirit as he faded and Mai was brought to a large rock formation that was far away from the lake. She found an opening of a cave in the rocks and went in, feeling the grip of her boyfriend's hand fade. "Naru?"_

"Did you find her?" _He was getting further away._ I don't have much time.

 _"Cave." Was all she could make her physical body say. She had to hurry when she saw Gene's glowing body point her down toward the cave._

 _Despite the darkness, Mai could see the texture of the cave walls. And while Naru's voice was fading she could hear something else. "Eve? Eve?" Mai called following the sound of the crying. She blinked and she was no longer wandering the cave, but looking at an upset blonde. "Eve? Are you hurt?"_

 _"I must be dreaming if you're being nice to me. There's no way you could have found me," the blonde sobbed as she wiped her tears with her sleeves._

"Mai? Mai? Answer me!" _Naru was impatient as ever. And worried._

 _"Found Eve." She knew her whisper would be faint and Naru would pull her back any moment, but she had to tell the crying girl something. "Eve, everything's going to be okay, we're going to find you."_

 _"I'm already dead, there's not hope for me." Mai resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she put her hand in her pocket._

 _"Give me your hand," she ordered, placing the small object in the British girl's palm. "I'm going to tell you what I told someone else who was in your position. This key was to the house that I lived in with my parents before they died, I carry it as my good luck charm-"_

 _"Can't be much luck if they're-" But the girl looked from the key to the Japanese girl's face and stopped herself as a tear fell. "I'm sorry. That was-"_

 _"We'll discuss that later," Mai said, shaking her head as she felt a tug on her arm. "You're alive, and I'm giving you this key as your piece of reality to hold onto. I want it back so you can be sure that we will find you."_

" _Mai?" Evangeline's eyes filled with more tears as she looked up at the girl who was so kind to her in this moment. "Mai, I'm so-"_

 _She never finished. The pull on Mai's wrist was too strong._

* * *

Mai's eyes snapped open as a whoosh of air filled her lungs. She had slumped back in her seat on the couch, Naru's arm was around her shoulders to keep her from falling over. She took a few deep breaths as everyone stared at her. "She's alive, there's a cave deep in the forest on the right side of the lake," Mai blurted as she jumped up only to fall back into Naru's arms.

"Are you sure?" Madoka asked, placing a hand on the girl's forehead.

Mai reached into her pocket and groped for her key. It was gone. "She has my charm. I couldn't have given it to her if she were dead," she answered, shaking Madoka's hand off of her. She slowly stood up. "Let's go!"

"You heard her," Naru said with a smirk as he followed her out, never once breaking the connection of their hands.

Loaded with flashlights, some rope, and fully charged phones, all five of them set off into the woods. With Mai leading the way, they found the cave after about an hour and a half of hiking. "No wonder no search teams went in here," Madoka remarked aloud. "Just looking at it, you can barely tell this is even a cave."

"Which way, Mai?" Martin asked, pointing his light down the cave. Mai closed her eyes and visualized where she went in her vision.

"Straight down, but be careful, there's a hole in the ground and that's where Eve is. It's where they all went," Mai explained as they walked down the narrow passage. "Eve! Where are you!"

Soon the whole group joined in calling for the blonde. "Over here! Help! I'm stuck!" Mai's light hovered over a dark spot in the cave floor and he rush over to peer over the hole.

"Eve! Are you hurt?" Mai called, pointing her light away from the girl's face so to not blind her.

"No, I just can't get out of here," the blonde replied as Lin came up to the edge and let down the rope he was carrying. Naru gently guided Mai away from the hole, but not before she caught a glimpse of the decaying bodies below. Luckily it seemed that it was too dark for Evangeline to have noticed as she was only complaining about the dark and how horrendous it smelled.

Mai couldn't blame her for hating the smell, she herself had to be led out of the cave before she could vomit her sandwich from earlier. She took some deep breaths of fresh air as she slid down against the rock wall to the ground, where Naru joined her. The projection still had taken a lot out of her. But when Naru wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close to his side, she felt proud of what she was able to do.

"You did good, Mai," Naru said as he kissed her forehead. _He's proud too, I'm glad._

* * *

Later that night, the police had been called and had taken the statements of the group as to how they discovered the bodies. Afterwards, the group went back to the Davis Mansion and were enjoying some hot tea in the living room. "Where're Martin and Noll?" Luella asked as she handed out the cups of tea.

"In Martin's study," Madoka replied, accepting her cup. "I think they're finishing up a few details."

"I'll go bring them their tea, Lord knows how long they'll take," Luella said with a roll of her eyes. Meanwhile, Mai had taken her seat on the windowsill, which gave her a rather nice view of the moon.

She had barely touched her tea, since her stomach was still flipping after seeing the bodies at the bottom of the hole. _At least the families will now have closure_ , she thought with a sigh.

"Mai?"

She jumped at the sound of her name, only to turn around to see the voice belonged to the blonde they had been looking for earlier. "You startled me, Eve, what's up?" Mai asked.

"May I?" the other girl answered, gesturing to the empty space on the windowsill. Mai nodded and scooted over so she could sit down. She rifled through her pocket and pulled out a key. "I wanted to give this back to you."

"Thank you," Mai smiled, accepting the key and placing it in her pocket. The blonde scrunched up her face and sighed as she slouched.

"I'm sorry, Mai," she said, resting her head against the glass. "I'm so sorry I was such a bitch to you and you still went out of your way to find me." Mai opened her mouth to say something, but the blonde shot her a look. "And don't you dare say 'it was no big deal' Madoka told me what happened when you suggested projecting your spirit to find me." Mai closed her mouth. "Thank you, for doing that. And for standing up to Noll to find me."

Mai actually managed to smile. "You're welcome, Eve."

And the two sat in silence for a minute, both looking up at the night sky. Until Evangeline finally looked at the girl next to her with sad eyes. "You really love him, don't you?" Mai didn't even have to hesitate as she smiled.

"Yes, I do," she said, looking back with sympathetic eyes. "You do too, don't you?" Eve nodded. "I'm sorry, Eve."

The blonde gave her the most confused look. "What the bloody hell are you sorry for?" Mai couldn't help but giggle.

"I'm sorry you had the misfortune to fall for that narcissist too," she laughed. It even got the blonde to laugh. "I'm also sorry I never gave you a chance."

"I'm the one who should be sorry." Evangeline rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "I let my inner green monster get the better of me and tried to come between you two. And you still went out of your way to save me. I can't compete with you, I'm not that good of a person."

"Well, why don't we stop trying to compete?" Mai suggested with a shrug. "I'm here for another week and a half, think it's possible to start fresh?"

"I'd like that," Evangeline admitted with a smile. "It's probably time I moved on from Noll, with how dedicated he is to the branch in Japan, I could never move there."

Mai simply laughed and shook her head. "If it makes you feel better, I don't think I would be able to move out here. My whole life is back in Japan."

"Noll's family and life is here," the blonde commented absently and let out a breath with a shrug. "Gene was always the more adventurous one between them. He would've been the one to move across the globe and start a new life." She looked at the brunette for a moment and smiled. "I'm glad Gene was able to inspire Noll to give it a shot. It seems to be working out for him."

Across the room, with a smile on her face Madoka nudged her husband. "Well, I'm glad things seem to be working out for them."

"I take it you'll be filling in Ayako and Kiko tonight?" Lin said with a smirk.

"I have to, I don't think Mai's going to call them." She looked at her husband reading his face. "Don't give me that look, I wasn't expecting Eve to say such things to her a couple days ago. I honestly thought she would back off when Noll only showed Mai interest."

Lin smirked and sipped his tea again. "What do you think Luella and Martin are going to say?"

"Well, they're probably just going over the final report of the case-"

"That's not why they're all taking so long."

Madoka's eyes widened as she playfully smacked his arm. "You're not saying-"

"I didn't say anything."

"Why did he tell you first!"

* * *

In Martin's study, he sat at his desk while his son was leaning against the window. Luella had just walked in and brought them tea. "Mother, stay for a moment," Naru said, as the woman decided to take a seat in one of the plush chairs in front of the desk.

"If you're wondering what I think of her," Luella said with a smirk on her face. "I think she's wonderful. And I see what Madoka meant, I see a little bit of Gene in her, but she's definitely different from him."

Naru nodded and turned to his father. "Well, she certainly exceeded any expectation I could come up with," he said with a shrug. "She also has very strong psychic abilities and it seems you two sync very well with each other, so I'm not sure what exactly you're looking for from me. It's not like you've ever needed to go out of your way for my approval. What's this about?"

And Luella's smirk turned into a grin as she started to realize what exactly her son was trying to tell her. "Out with it, Noll!"

At that, he smirked. "I think I'm going to marry her."

* * *

 **And then backtrack about 10 chapters and we have exactly _how_ Naru proposed lol. This is a short chapter and far less detailed than what I'm used to doing for my Dangerous Souls fic, but I really only expected this to be about 3 chapters and I didn't want to have to make a whole other fic for it. Anyway, I'll have another update for this fic by the end of the week (pretty much because I already have it almost finished lol) I'm going to have Dangerous Souls updated this week too (I hope) Next week there will be no updates since I'll be visiting family for Easter break and won't really have much time to write.**

 **Anyway I hope you all enjoyed and please let me know what you think! As for Mai and Eve becoming friends? I think they're at least on friendly terms now. I don't think we're going to see her reappear again tbh. But at least she's not going to try to steal Naru away right? Maybe Gene paid her a visit? What are your thoughts?**


	16. Birthday

**So here's a little scene with Midori and Gene. I think it's sweet I hope you guys do too!**

* * *

16-Birthday

It was Saturday and a rather lazy one when Mai woke up and found that neither she nor her husband had set an alarm. It was nearly ten and Naru was still out cold in slumber. Mai sat up and yawned with a stretch of her arms. She smiled at the sleeping man next to her, but she knew she had things to get done that morning, so she leaned over and kissed his cheek, but he did not stir. "Happy Birthday, Naru," she whispered, knowing he was too exhausted to hear her.

Naru had never taken the day off to celebrate his birthday. He has taken the day off to celebrate Mai's, but never his own. However, since she hasn't had much of a role in the office since their son, Gene had been born, which then reduced to practically non-existent when she became pregnant with their daughter Midori, Naru had been working non-stop. Especially recently with a case that required the team to fly to Hokkaido and lasted nearly two weeks. He had returned the night before and despite it being past their bedtime, the kids were thrilled to see their daddy again.

 _No wonder he's still asleep,_ Mai thought as she got out of bed to make sure her kids weren't up to any mischief.

She walked down the hall and peered into Gene's room. _Looks like he's up_ , she noted with a nod to the empty room. It wasn't unusual for Gene to get up and play with his toys in the living room until his mother and sister woke up. She stopped by Midori's room, but she wasn't there either. _They must be playing together in the living room_ , Mai determined with a knitted brow.

Gene was a rather mature and responsible child, it might have had something to do with being the oldest, or simply being Oliver Davis' son, but he has taken it upon himself to get Midori out of bed when Mai was asleep. Granted the one time that that happened, Mai had a very bad case of the flu and slept until noon that day. Gene took care of Midori and managed to climb on counters in order to get their sippy cups and get fruit off of the island for their breakfast. Mai felt horrible for sleeping so long and being sick but was relieved that even at the age of five, nearly six, Gene knew how to take charge.

Mai rounded the corner to the living room only to find it empty. _Where are they?_ She wondered. _I know they didn't leave the apartment, Gene might be able to reach the deadbolt, but not the chain. Not even Midori could fit through the opening._

Sure enough, the two ankle biters didn't leave the apartment, but that didn't mean they weren't up to mischief. Mai found them in the kitchen, Midori was strapped in her highchair and pushed up to the island as Gene was struggling to pour milk into a cereal bowl. Midori's eyes met Mai's first and they lit up with glee. "Mama awake!" she exclaimed, kicking her covered feet in her footie pajamas.

"I am," Mai smiled and kissed the girl's forehead. She went over to help her son who was splashing at this point. "Good morning, making breakfast?" she asked kissing her son's head. He looked up at her with blue eyes that were huge in his head.

"It's Daddy's birthday!" he said with a smile. Around his fifth birthday he stopped calling Naru "Papa" and settled for "Daddy." Mai was almost certain it was because Yasuhara's son, and Gene's best friend, Hiroshi was calling his parents Mommy and Daddy. Though the boy still clung to call her "Mama."

"So you're making him breakfast?" Mai thought out loud as she heard the microwave ding. Gene's head perked up and he climbed off of the stool and dragged a chair to the counter where the microwave was. "What's that?"

"I'm not allowed to use the stove, Mama," he said, taking a dishcloth and pulling a steaming mug from the device. "But I know Daddy loves tea with his breakfast!"

 _Or with anything in general_ , Mai mused in her head. She looked at the murky liquid in the mug, she could see the tea leaves floating and bobbing in the steaming liquid. _Gene, we're going to have to work on your tea-making skills._

"Me made this!" Midori exclaimed, bouncing in her seat. She held a slightly crumpled piece of paper. Mai took in her hand and saw four blobs, a large blue blob, a smaller one, a large pink blob and a smaller one too. It didn't take much to figure out that it was a family portrait. In the bottom corner was a squiggle drawn in green crayon.

"It's beautiful, Midori!" Mai said, smirking at the cleverness of her daughter. She might not have been able to write her name yet, but she used colors to do it instead. "Shall we go wake him up?"

The two kids nodded their head furiously as Mai unsnapped Midori from her chair and placed her on the ground. Gene grabbed a tray from the cabinet and Mai placed the tea and bowl on it. Quietly, they made their way into the master bedroom where Naru was still sleeping like the dead. "Good morning, sleepyhead!" Mai's voice rang cheerfully. "Rise and shine, birthday boy!"

Naru didn't open his eyes, but scowled and rolled over, waving his hand to shoo them away. Mai pouted then looked down at her kids. A devious smirk plastered her face as she looked into their slightly disappointed and confused faces. "Go get him!"

With bright smiles, Gene climbed onto the bed and pulled Midori up behind him. They both started jumping on the bed squealing in excitement. Midori jumped right onto Naru's stomach, startling the man awake. He shot up into a sitting position and held up his daughter in the air. "What the?" he said sleepily as his daughter happily squealed and kicked in delight. Gene took it as his chance to jump onto the man's back and wrap his arms around his neck.

Naru shot his son a confused look only to look at his wife and see the tray she held. "What's this?" he asked.

"Pi Ba-day! Pi Ba-day!" Midori squealed as Naru put her down and she hopped up and down on the bed.

"She's trying to say, 'Happy Birthday!'" Gene translated with a smile as she clung to his father's neck. "Move over, Midori!"

The girl obeyed so that Mai could place the tray in front of her husband. "Breakfast in bed?" he said with a raised brow. "Well, this is new. What did I do to deserve this?"

Mai rolled her eyes and shook her head with a laugh. "Why don't you ask your kids? They're the ones who set this up."

Now that caught his attention. "You did?" The siblings nodded with bright smiles. "You made tea, too?"

Gene nodded and sat next to his sister. "Just like Mama!" Naru brought the mug to his lips and took a sip. Mai almost laughed when she watched him struggle to swallow the bitter liquid.

"She taught you well," he said suppressing a cough, but it was worth it to see the joy in the boy's eyes. And it was also entertaining to see the disdain in his wife's.

 _You are so dead_ , Mai thought shaking her head. "Midori, why don't you show Papa what you made?"

The girl nodded and handed the crumpled paper to her father. "Thank you, Midori!" The girl climbed up and kissed him on the cheek. Naru turned to face his wife. "Do I get a present from you?" he teased.

"You're going to have to wait for that," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. "C'mon, let him eat his breakfast. We're going to go to the park in a bit."

Gene and Midori hugged and kissed their father and climbed out of the bed. Once they were gone, Naru pushed the tea away from his bowl and ate a few bites while wondering just what his wife had in store for him. It might have had something to do with the few bags he saw her trying to hide when he came home the night before.

The first birthday that he ever took off of work and what did that give him? Soggy cereal, microwaved tea leaves, a drawing of four blobs, and the three people who meant the world to him. He smiled as he finished the cereal and went to dump the tea down the drain. It was probably his best birthday ever and it was only the beginning.

He was definitely going to take off work more often.

* * *

 **I feel like despite Naru being a workaholic, he would end up being a family man. Especially it was because of his work that his** **family came to be if you think about it. I'm sorry I haven't updated I was out of town for a week and only just got back to writing again. I'll have another update soon! Check out the poll on my profile!**

 **Any other SPR family scenes you'd like to see? Let me know in your review!**


	17. Fight

**So I really wanted to write Naru and Mai having their first fight (or one of them) but I wanted it to be something that was more than bickering and teasing. Something that wasn't going to be fixed with a kiss and possibly makeup sex. Then I figured it out. Basically the back story is they are on a case with a client who is possessed much like the Cursed House Arc of the Anime/Manga. Mai knows that Naru is going to try and face the spirit with his PK but knows it's too dangerous. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

17-Fight

Mai felt her heart plummet as she realized where she had seen this scene before. Their team was small for this case, just her, Naru, Lin, and Monk. The team itself was almost the same as another case years ago. One of their clients was possessed and Monk was coaxing the spirit out using a prayer similar to one Ayako had used. It was supposed to be less dangerous for the victim.

The exorcism was a success as far as saving the client, but now the spirit had it's eyes on Naru. Yes, Mai had been here before and by the static she felt in the air she knew exactly what he was going to do. _Naru, you can't!_ Her mind screamed, but her body moved faster than her voice.

She ran in front of the man she had recently married, distracting him enough to stop gathering his PK energy. "Lin! Your Shiki!" Mai called as she grabbed Naru and pulled him away from the line of fire and onto the ground as Lin whistled and white streaks filled the room.

Mai and Naru rolled from their momentum, but by the time they looked up, Lin's Shiki had done their job. "I didn't destroy it, but it won't attack us tonight. It wasted too much energy fighting the exorcism," the Chinese man explained.

Monk came over and helped the young newly weds back to their feet. "You two okay?" Monk asked.

Mai brushed herself off and gave a worried look to the stoic man in front of her. "I'm fine, what about you?"

"I'm unharmed," he said through gritted teeth. Mai saw the fire in his eyes and while she knew he wasn't possessed, she also knew that he wasn't happy.

A familiar ringtone played from the monk's pocket. He pulled out the phone. "I gotta take this, Ayako is convinced the baby is coming three months early." He rolled his eyes and picked up the phone. "Ayako, the doctor said it's not uncommon for you to have contractions this early on. I know it hurts but-you're right, I don't know _how_ _much_ it hurts…if you're worried then go to the hospital. Yasuhara or John or even Masako will take you-"

Monk left the room as he consoled his wife, meanwhile Lin had escorted the client out of the room to find out how much the man remembered. Mai turned to her husband whose eyes were filled a fiery emotion that she couldn't quite place.

"Do you have a death wish?" Naru's voice was a growl as he spoke once they were alone. Mai's eyes grew wide at the accusation.

"Me? Me!" She spun around and stomped over to him.

"What were you thinking!"

"I was thinking, 'my husband is about to get himself killed! I have to do something!'" She jabbed her index finger into his chest. "Better question, what were _you_ thinking!"

"You can't keep putting yourself in dangerous situations!"

Mai threw her hands up in frustration. "Are we going to simply ignore the fact that you almost used your PK? Which, by the way, could have _killed_ you!"

"This isn't about me, Mai-"

"Oh, it's not?" She feigned astonishment, placing a hand on her chest. "Because, from the looks of it, you seem to get a thrill out of nearly dying!" With a shake of her head she groaned and began to pace around the room. "Is this some sort of guy thing? Do you feel the need to be the hero or something? You know you can't use your PK without damaging yourself, now why did you do it!"

"Mai, this isn't the time to discuss-"

"Yes, it is!" She threw her hands up again. "Talk to me, Naru! Why is it okay for you to get into near death situations but not for me!" She stomped her foot in her tantrum, but she didn't care how childish she looked. Truth was, she was terrified for him. If only she could make him see…

But Naru grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, gripping her upper arms. She saw the saddest look ever in his deep indigo eyes, a look that was even more pronounced by the pained expression on his face. "I _can't_ lose you," he said in a whisper.

It was enough to make Mai stop and think. Had she been the same girl she was when she met him, she probably would have swooned. No, she definitely would have. But this Mai was not finished being angry with him. And as sweet as this little confession was, she was still hurt.

"Well, I'm gad we're almost on the same page," she said, brushing his hands off of her. "Because, I can't lose _you_. Not now." She let out a breath and stepped back, needing the space. "I'm not your assistant anymore, Naru. And I'm more than just your wife. I'm your partner. 'Til death do us part."

The emotion that had been visible on his face had settled to just in his eyes. Mai shook her head again.

"From the moment you met me, you knew I wouldn't be some docile little housewife. We're a team until the end and I don't plan on that happening for a long time." She sighed again and looked at her husband with sad eyes. "I'm going to bed. Have fun with your case."

Uh oh. She was still not done being angry. But Naru let her go anyway. He realized that while he was afraid of her getting hurt, she was just as afraid of him getting hurt. He sighed as he headed back to Base to do some more work before turning in himself. Hopefully she would have calmed down by the time he went back to their room.

Naru made a face as he walked up to the room he was sharing with his wife. She was still mad at him. The fact was obvious when he saw his pajamas neatly folded outside the door with his toothbrush on top. _She's not done being mad at me,_ he determined as he sighed and picked up the clothes she left for him.

It honestly could have been worse. Mai could have simply locked him out with nothing and left it at that. Or could have left his entire bag outside the door. At least it looked like he would only have to spend one night in Base. They hadn't been married very long, only a few months, but this would be the first night they spent without each other. He already knew that neither of them were going to sleep well.

* * *

 **Honestly this scene was semi-inspired from a scene in the Incredibles when Bob and Helen fight towards the end of the movie and I figured that even Naru and Mai would probably be similar if they were in a similar situation. I'll be updating Dangerous Souls probably by the end of the week or so since I'm a lot farther than I thought I would be.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and please review and check out my newest poll! Any ideas/suggestions for future chapters?**


	18. Fight Part 2

**So I decided to finish what I started with the last chapter. I was originally going to leave it as is, but after a couple people asked me to continue I decided to see where it would go. I'm pretty happy with it to be honest. Also I'd like to add that this isn't their first fight, but their first fight since getting married. And their first fight that required space to sort it all out. Anyway I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

18-Fight Part 2

Monk was up rather early the next morning, two mugs of coffee in hand as he walked into Base. Just as he suspected, he was not at all surprised to see their ringleader with his head on the table, fast asleep in his chair. On the couch in the room was folded pair of pajamas and a toothbrush that Naru had failed to use. _He must've worked 'til he passed out_ , Monk decided, placing the mug in front of the young man.

Naru didn't stir. He was out cold. Monk turned around at the sound of oncoming footsteps. "She made him sleep here?" Lin asked with a sip from his own mug. "Can't be good for his neck."

Monk nodded with a smirk as he shook Naru's shoulder. "Rise and shine, Dr. Davis." Monk voice was mocking but it annoyed the young man enough to open his eyes and sit up with a rub of his neck. "Rough night?"

Naru nodded and accepted the coffee that Monk pushed toward him. He took a sip and rubbed his temple. Just as he thought, it was a rough night. He knew it was no secret that he and Mai had an argument the night before. He was almost positive one of them heard it. He wouldn't be surprised if Madoka knew about it by now.

Monk lounged back on the couch putting his feet up. "I remember the first night Ayako made me sleep on the couch, after we were married I mean," Monk said thoughtfully. "It was the day after our wedding."

"Doesn't surprise me," Lin remarked, taking his seat in front of his laptop next to the monitors. Monk gave the man a pout.

"And just when was the first time Madoka made you sleep on the couch?" Monk challenged with a sneaky grin.

"Three weeks after we got married," he said without missing a beat. He opened his laptop and began to work. Monk laughed beside himself.

"I'm surprised it took that long," he said taking another sip. "Well, Naru? Don't tell me this is the first time she kicked you out?"

"It is," Naru admitted rubbing his eyes. He knew he wouldn't sleep well and he was right. This was going to be a long rough day.

Even Lin turned around and he and Monk shared a look. "You're doing better than the rest of us," Monk admitted with a shrug. "I'm pretty sure Yasuhara and Kiko didn't last that long."

"They lasted two nights before she made him sleep on the floor," Lin corrected, as he turned back to his laptop.

"And why do you know that?" Monk's brow raised.

"You were on that case. It was no secret." Lin continued with his work and Monk finally remembered what the man was talking about.

"No one was married, Madoka forced us to pretend so I'm pretty sure that doesn't count…" Monk continued his morning rambling to Lin who was rather talkative that day. Naru continued to drink his coffee and silently wished it were his wife's tea. No one could make it quite like her.

He knew he went too far the minute he asked her if she had a death wish. It be honest they were in far more dangerous situations in the past. This case was rather minor in comparison. But had he mustered up more of his energy for his PK attack just before Mai ran in front of him, he knew he wouldn't have been able to stop it. She could have been seriously hurt and it would have been by his hand.

She was right, he knew. His PK does have the potential to kill him, but in this case, it was a very rude awakening to who else it could kill. She knew how dangerous his abilities were, yet she jumped in front of him without a second thought. Even though she had worked quickly enough for him to not harm her, it made her vulnerable to an attack from the spirit. She turned her back to it just so she could knock him out of the way. It was absolutely reckless.

But then again, so was he. He didn't have to be the hero and gather his PK for a quick finish. All he had to do was order Lin to direct his Shiki. Mai was smart in that instance, but still reckless and that was why he was angry with her.

Not that he was angry anymore. He wasn't sure if she still was, or maybe just disappointed in him. Not that that made him feel any better. He was so concerned about how she could have been hurt with the way she acted, he didn't understand _why_ she acted.

 _"I can't lose you!"_

 _"Glad we're almost on the same page. Because I can't lose you."_

He felt like an ass and despite being the prideful man he is, he knew he had to apologize. One, because he knew they were both being rash and not thinking straight. Two, because he really missed sleeping next to her.

That's why he took a deep breath and stood up. He walked out without the conversing men taking notice. He stood outside the room he was to share with his wife, knowing the door was still locked, though he had not tried it. He knocked.

"Monk, I said I'd get my own coffee," came the reply. From the tone of her voice, Naru was certain she hadn't slept well either. He knocked again only to hear her huff and march to the door. "Monk! I said-"

Once the door was opened she realized her mistake. She let out a breath and kept her face impassive. "You look like hell."

"I feel like hell," he replied with a playful tease.

"Good," she said and they stood staring at each other in silence. Finally, after a few moments, obviously not going to get anywhere with their silence, Mai sighed and began to shut the door. "Look, if you're trying to ask me to join your for breakfast, I'm not hungry. But I'll be in Base-"

"I'm sorry." His original reaction was delayed, but the words finally blurted from his mouth, successfully stopping the shutting door. There was no way he would be able to take another minute of her like this. She wasn't angry, she was completely and utterly disappointed in him. "I'm sorry for our argument last night."

Mai leaned against the doorframe, oh so tempted to immediately forgive the man in front of her and embrace him, but she remembered something. "Are you really sorry? Or are you just saying that because Monk and Lin told you to?"

Considering she had been expecting Monk to coax her out of her room with coffee, Naru wasn't that surprised that she came to that conclusion. "May I come in?" he asked. Mai hesitated, but stepped back and nodded. He shut the door behind him and turned around to find her with her arms crossed.

"Well?"

Naru hesitated this time. You'd think that with the amount of time he spent awake the night before he would've prepared his speech better. "I'm sorry for acting so recklessly," he said, his head was dipped a little to meet her eyes. "You're right, I was trying to be the hero."

"And why were you trying to be?" She got him to admit this much, she wasn't stopping until she understood everything.

"It said your name," he finally admitted. The real reason why he was going to use his PK. The look in Mai's eyes changed. It finally made sense. "I needed to distract the spirit before it attacked you. I couldn't spit out Lin's name but I could try to attack it myself. When you stepped in front of me, I was barely able to stop myself. That's why I yelled at you last night, I'm sorry."

Mai let out a breath as her knees gave out and she sat on the bed. Naru followed and sat next to her as she shook her head. "I'm sorry, too," she said. Her throat felt tight, but she refused to allow her voice to crack. "I said things I shouldn't have-"

"No, you said what I needed to hear," Naru corrected, causing her head to shoot up to him. "We both reacted without really thinking and in my anger at the spirit I didn't tell you the full story."

Mai wiped away a small tear that escaped her eye. "Naru, promise me this," she said, taking his hand. She continued when he nodded. "No more secrets. No more omitting things because we don't want to scare each other. From here on out, especially during cases, we need to be completely honest with each other."

She waited for him to nod before she gripped his hand tighter.

"If I'm ever in danger because a spirit threatens you with _my_ life, tell me!" He watched her bite her lip to stop herself from any more emotion than was necessary. "And I'll do the same with you. Just remember, if you can be angry at me for being reckless, I am more than allowed to be angry at you for doing the same thing. Deal?"

"Deal," Naru said without hesitation, he pulled her into his arms and held her tight. They both fell back onto the bed and Mai couldn't help but giggle at the act. "I take it I don't have to sleep in Base tonight?"

"So that's the real reason you wanted to apologize," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. "You missed the bed."

"More like I missed the person _in_ the bed," Naru answered, tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear. "A certain brown eyed girl who finds new ways to get under my skin everyday." He kissed her forehead and saw the smirk on her face. "You didn't sleep well either, did you?"

"Not a wink."

* * *

 **So they were both right to be angry. They were both right to apologize. It wasn't a cut and dry one was right one was wrong. They need to learn to be honest with each other, especially when they are afraid, which can happen a lot with these cases. And this is the reason why Naru would tell Mai about his nightmare back in Chapter 3. I hope you all enjoyed this continuation and that it ended how you hoped or if it didn't you can at least see why it ended this way.**

 **So first off, check out my poll on my profile or in a review tell me what powers SPR's team's kids will have if any. Also I've gotten a few requests for Naru and Mai's wedding and I've wanted to do something like that but I get so stuck with it (mainly out of fear of making them too OOC) so I'll work on it, but I can't promise it soon.**

 **Side note I have a couple ideas for the next chapter of this case now which would you rather see (just because it'll give me an idea of which to work on first) Naru watching one of his kids while Mai's at the doctor with the other or Naru and Mai giving Gene and Midori a bath? Which do you think would be more entertaining?]**

 **Feel free to submit any ideas!**


	19. Comfort

**So this is a little something I came up with last minute (like literally an hour ago) after watching a video on** **Facebook. I hope you enjoy!**

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19-Comfort

Naru was at his wit's end this time. Mai had been gone less than an hour and Gene had been crying ever since he woke up from his nap (approximately five minutes after Mai shut the front door).

Naru had tried everything. He fed him. He changed him. He tried placing him in the rocker. Hell, he even tried dancing to some music with the child. Nothing worked!

He knew having a baby wasn't going to be easy. He knew it was going to be even harder without his wife there. The first month wasn't too bad, sure they were both sleep deprived, but at least there were no cases in dire need of both or even one of them. Lin, Monk, and Yasuhara had been great at taking over the business while Naru was able to stay close to home to keep Mai from the verge of a mental breakdown. Then his parents came for two weeks to help out along with celebrating Christmas. Their constant company may have annoyed them slightly, but if it meant they could sleep a little longer or take more naps, they were willing to put up with it.

But then when Martin and Luella went back home, Naru received a case that he could not pass over to the rest of his team. He unfortunately had to leave Mai home alone with Gene for a few days. Something that he was still feeling guilty over, even though it was only for four days. When he returned, he knew Mai needed a break.

He suggested she stay with Michiru or Keiko for a night, but she was too reluctant to leave Gene alone for so long. Even though he would be with Naru. So he decided that she should take the _day_ off. Even went to the extent to call Michiru and Keiko to take his wife out for some relaxation.

 _"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Mai asked him worriedly as he was rushing her out the door._

 _"I'm the boy's father, of course we'll be okay," he chided as he opened the door and there was Michiru and Keiko ready to whisk his wife away for a day out. "If I have any issues, I'll call you immediately."_

 _Mai's eyes had softened as she leaned on tiptoes to kiss the man on the cheek. "Thank you, Naru."_

Now here he was, nearly an hour later, with a screaming baby and probably some neighbors about to call in noise complaints. And the worst part was that he was oh so tempted to call Mai back to calm the child down. That's who the babe wanted. That's who the man needed.

In spite of himself, Naru groaned when he heard his phone ring in his pocket, which seemed to only upset the infant further. He was in way over his head. "What is it Madoka?" Naru said in English as he rubbed his temples.

 _"I can tell that babysitting is going well,"_ Madoka quipped and Naru wanted to wipe that smirk he knew she was wearing off her face. _"Are you going to call in reinforcements?"_

"It's not babysitting if it's my child," Naru answered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's a stubborn thing. He knows what he wants and I'm not it."

 _"Have you changed him?"_

"Yes."

 _"Fed him?"_

"Yes."

 _"Rocked him?"_

"Yes."

 _"How about dancing?"_

"Believe it or not, I tried."

 _"I would pay to see that!"_

"Madoka…" Naru was getting fed up.

 _"He doesn't have a fever, does he?"_

"No, I checked that, too. I'm at a loss here." Naru hated defeat, but not nearly as much as _admitting_ it. But this time, Baby Gene:1 Oliver Davis:0. "I guess I have no choice but to call Mai home."

 _"Wait,"_ Madoka said with a thoughtful noise. _"He just wants her, right?"_

"That's what I said." Naru rolled his eyes, a trait he picked up from his wife.

 _"Then give her Mai."_

"That was my plan," Naru admitted, defeated. "I just need to hang up-"

 _"No! You dummy!"_ Madoka's screech was enough to force him to pull the phone from his ear. _"He just needs to be comforted by her! He just needs to think she's there!"_

"Get to the point, Madoka." Naru's patience was long gone by now.

 _"In Mai's laundry, is there a shirt that isn't too dirty? Something that doesn't have spitup on it?"_

"Probably, in her drawer," Naru replied, standing up to head to the dresser. Gene was still in hysterics, kicking on the blanket on the floor of the master bedroom.

 _"Not gonna work, Dr. Davis!"_ Madoka mocked, causing the man to purse his lips. _"You need something she wore recently. What about her nightshirt from last night? Maybe a scarf or something?"_

Still confused, Naru walked over to the hamper and found the shirt Mai had worn to bed, which luckily didn't have any spitup on it. "I found one." He gave a side eye look to his phone.

 _"Now give Gene the shirt."_ Naru's side eye turned into a full-blown look of disbelief. _"Just do it."_

With a sigh, Naru placed the shirt on top of his son's torso. Almost immediately, the crying softened to a crank and finally to normal baby grunts from simply moving around. Naru's brow furrowed as he watched his child carefully. "How-"

 _"Her scent, Noll,"_ Madoka said with a chuckle _. "He went several days without you around and now suddenly his mother leaves too? He probably feels abandoned, but Mai's shirt smells like her and it gives him a sense of comfort. You should be good now until Mai gets home."_

Shortly after, Naru and Madoka hung up. The former spent the rest of the day watching the spectacle in front of him. Now that Madoka had said it, it made sense. It was normal for Naru to leave, but not Mai. Even at only nine weeks old, Baby Gene understood that much.

From then on, Naru was able to feed, change, and even get Gene to nap without a hassle for the rest of the night. Before he knew it, Mai was walking into their room. "Well, you two see to be getting along," she commented, looking a bit more refreshed. "Why is he snuggling my shirt?"

"He missed you," Naru said, standing up to give her a kiss. "Feel better?"

Mai wrapped her arms around his torso and held him tight. "Keiko insisted on getting massages. I fell asleep less than five minutes into it." She felt his chest shake in his chuckle. "Let me guess, Gene wouldn't stop crying so you called Madoka."

"She called me," he admitted, it was Mai's turn to laugh. "What's so funny?"

"This is just how I got Gene to stop crying," she admitted, leaning back to look up at him. "I gave him one of your undershirts and he calmed down. Don't think he didn't miss you, too."

And suddenly, Naru understood why Madoka knew exactly when to call him. "She called you the first night of the case, didn't she?"

"Second, the first night wasn't so bad," Mai said, hugging her husband again. "I put the bed guard up and had him sleep on your side, after that though, it went down hill."

"I swear that woman's a mind reader."

"I told you so."

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 **Hope you enjoyed! I have a little something planned for the next chapter, but I don't think it'll be up until Wednesday so stay tuned! Please review!**


	20. Hard to Love

**So I meant to have this up two weeks ago and I'm sorry! I'm also sorry to everyone waiting on Dangerous** **Souls, I'm working on it I swear! It's just I had the end of my semester on top of my friends graduating this year meaning I've had to take part in many celebrations lol. It will be updated next week.**

 **Now this I got the idea for on Mother's Day, I got to thinking "Would Naru do anything for Mai on Mother's day?" and this sort of happened. It got way more detailed than I expected because the song "Hard to Love" by Lee Brice came on and even though the song has a slightly different meaning, I think it fits here nicely. So go listen to it because it's really cute and sweet and will make more sense. Enjoy!**

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20-Hard to Love

"Look at you, you're going all out this year aren't you?" Madoka quipped as she paced around the kitchen while lightly bouncing the infant in her arms. Naru was sitting at his friends' kitchen table with his three-year-old son working on something. "Mai's going to be so surprised on Sunday."

Naru ignored the woman's comments as he was trying to dip his son's hand in green paint without making too much of a mess. "Slime, Papa! Slime!" the boy exclaimed with excitement in his eyes. His father dipped the boy's hand in the paint and blotted a little off before grabbing the light pink coffee mug.

"Gene, I need you to keep your hand flat and still. Mama is going to want to see your handprint," Naru said, placing the boy's hand on the mug and the carefully removed it, revealing a bright green handprint. "What do you think, Gene?" He looked down at his son with a small smile.

Gene's face lit up even more. "Mi-chan! Mi-chan!" he cried with fits of giggles as he pointed to his baby sister in Madoka's arms.

Naru nodded as he took a wet towel and cleaned off Gene's hand. "Yes, Midori is going to put her footprint on the mug. What color should she use?" The boy furrowed his brow as he looked at the row of paints in front of him. He pouted at his indecisiveness before he finally pointed at the purple bottle in the middle. Naru picked up the bottle and patted the boy's head. "Good choice."

Gene smiled and nodded before jumping off of the chair and going to find Madoka's son, Chao. "The boy can't keep still for more than five minutes, can he?" Madoka laughed as Midori smushed her face in the woman's scarf. "And this one's gotta be confused. Since I'm wearing Mai's scarf I smell like Mama but I don't sound like her."

"She doesn't like anyone else holding her unless Mai's around," Naru said, pouring some paint onto a plate. "That scarf is the only reason why she's not screaming right now."

"Oh, I know that," Madoka chuckled with a shake of her head. "Her brother was the same way, remember when Mai went out to spend time with friends and he refused to stop crying?"

"Yes, yes," he said with an exasperated breath. He stood up and untangled Midori's leg from her blanket, dipping it into the purple paint. He blotted it with a towel before putting it on the mug. "You were the one that suggested it and it worked like a charm." He carefully removed his daughter's foot from the mug. "That should work, right?" He presented the mug to Madoka.

The woman smiled as the man turned the mug to present both the hand and foot print. "Mai's going to love it." She nudged the man as he put the cup down and wiped the paint off his daughter's foot. "Glad to see you do have a sweet side, only took five years of marriage for it to come out."

You see, Naru wasn't the romantic type. Pretty much any romantic nights spent between him and Mai were spontaneous and never had much planning if any. He preferred to show his love in small gestures, being the prideful man that he is, he rarely said it aloud. Making tea for her, helping with the kids, doing the dishes without being asked (or asking if she was going to do them), occasional late-night cuddle sessions, small things that are easy to overlook, but let Mai know he cares deeply about her.

However, he knew that small gestures were not going to cut it this time. Mother's Day was coming up and things were rough with a three year old and an eleven week old in their lives. The past year not been an easy one either, they learned Mai was pregnant again in the middle of a rather dangerous case and Gene was showing signs of psychic abilities of his own. Needless to say, Naru knew his wife was feeling worn out and probably a little underappreciated. She might have said him holding her all night long would've been enough, but Naru begged to differ.

He got the perfect idea of what to do, when Mai told him how Gene managed to break one of her favorite mugs. A mug that he had actually given her as a Christmas present long before they were dating. It was made of plastic and had her name along with princesses and unicorns all over it, he was slightly impressed that his son had managed to break the thing. Of course, his wife wasn't too happy about the cup breaking, but what could she do? So Naru decided that her Mother's Day gift from the kids would be a mug to replace the broken one. And this one had a little piece of all of them, Midori's footprint, Gene's handprint, and Mai's name written by Naru. For once he was grateful for Luella insisting he perfect his cursive writing.

He was going to have to wait for the paint to dry before he could paint Mai's name, so upon hearing his daughter cranking, he grabbed a bottle from the fridge and ran it under the tap. He tested the milk on his arm before holding the bottle out for Madoka. "Would you like to feed her?" he asked, the woman shook her head.

"I think she's had enough of me holding her for now," she answered honestly. "Sit and I'll hand her to you." Naru obeyed and before he knew it he was feeding his daughter, who gulped happily. Madoka walked over to the counter where the still warm teapot sat. She poured two cups before coming to sit at the table as well. "So, the kids are giving her the mug, are you going to give her something as well?"

Naru looked down at his daughter, using his thumb to brush a wisp of fine light brown hair from her face. She had been born with very fine hair, but a lot of it, similar to Gene who had been born with a lot of thick dark chocolate colored hair. However, unlike her brother, Midori's hair was falling out periodically. On top of her small stature, the lack of hair made her appear even younger than eleven weeks. Something that bothered and worried his wife into an irrational state, he thought that the irrationalness would subside with the birth of their second child, but apparently not. "Kiko and Yasuhara agreed to watch them next Saturday," he said simply as he continued to watch his daughter eat.

"Date night," Madoka cooed nostalgically after she took a sip of her tea. "Remember when I made you guys go on your first?"

"We still have the pictures," Naru said with a shake of his head.

"I'm pretty sure Luella framed the one of you two in the gazebo." Naru smirked at the memory. He knew exactly which photo Madoka gotten a hold of to give him mother. Back then, Mai was just his assistant and the difficult woman who sat across from him decided that the team needed to go undercover as married couples. He and Mai were in the garden and an employee had offered to take their picture, Mai, of course, tripped and fell into him. Ironically, the shots taken in that instant were probably some of their favorites.

"It's in my father's office," Naru replied, adjusting his hold so that he was holding and feeding his daughter with the same hand and he could drink his tea with the other. "Is Lin doing anything for you for Mother's Day?"

Madoka just shrugged. "If you're asking if he's planning a romantic getaway, he hasn't told me." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat looking up in thought. "Then again, I think the most romantic thing he's ever done was propose. So we'll probably have lunch with my sister and her daughter and fiancé, nothing extravagant."

And that right there was the reason Naru felt the need to go above and beyond for this occasion. He knew it wasn't easy being married to man like Oliver Davis. A stoic prideful man, who cares much more than he'll ever let on, he was hard to love. And there were plenty of times where he felt he didn't deserve someone like her. He could be insensitive and with a narcissistic personality like his, he knew he couldn't love him like she did.

From speaking with Madoka, Naru knew that Lin was even more stoic than he was. He also knew that there were days where she felt taken for granted, seemed like this was another one of those days. One thing Naru knew very well, was that he never wanted Mai to ever feel that way. If that meant he had to step out of his comfort zone from time to time and show physical affection or go out of his way to make a thoughtful gift for her, he was willing to do it.

Midori started squirming, breaking Naru's train of thought as he hoisted her into a sitting position on his lap, supporting her head with one hand an rubbing her back with the other. The sight caused Madoka to giggle. "What?" he asked raising a brow.

"You," she chuckled, taking another sip. "Never in a million years did I ever see you feeding and burping a newborn, much less your own daughter. And you used to be so awkward with children, yet you're a silent natural."

"I never thought I'd see Lin do the same," he retorted, just as Midori let out a small burp, he patted her back in between rubs. "Your niece changed that."

"She still likes him more than me," Madoka remarked bitterly, as Gene and Chao ran into the room. Chao was a bit older than Gene, just under two years older, and the spitting image of Lin, with Madoka's eyes. He took after his father in height and hair, standing close to a foot taller than Gene (who was on the shorter side anyway) with black hair that was near his shoulders and covered one eye. "Hey, boys, whatcha doing?"

"Okaa-san, can we have cookies?" Chao piped up, one of his big eyes looking up at her. He leaned forward to accentuate his plea, "Please!" He may have gotten his looks and frame from his father, but his personality was all Madoka.

"What do you think, Noll?" Madoka asked with her head cocked to the side at the man in front of her. "Would you like a cookie too?"

Naru looked to the clock on the stove and determined that there was plenty of time before dinner for cookies to be had. "A cookie would be nice," he said, much to the joy of the two boys.

Madoka brought out plates of cookies and small glasses of milk. After another burp from Midori, she was ready for the rest of her bottle. He continued feeding the girl as Madoka tested the dryness of the paint on the mug. "A few more minutes and you should be good," she said, grabbing a paintbrush off the counter and placing it on the table.

Gene finished off a cookie and hopped out of the seat he had been occupying. He bobbed over to his father and sister and patted the girl's head with his chubby hand. "Remember to be gentle, Gene," Naru said, wiping off the slight chocolate mark his son left.

Gene nodded with a serious look and leaned up to kiss the infant's head. He leaned back on his heels with the biggest grin on his face. "Midori is pretty!" he announced, earning a small smile from his father.

"That she is," Naru replied, handing his daughter off to Madoka. "Do you know what Midori means in English?" he asked in English.

"Green!" he replied triumphantly with a slight accent. Naru nodded proudly and handed the boy another cookie who grinned and proceeded to run off with Chao.

Naru kept the small smile on his face as he dipped the paintbrush into the black paint. With a careful hand and in no time at all, Mai's name was scrawled across the mug in delicate calligraphy that would make Luella proud. He set the mug aside and glanced at his watch. "Madoka-" But she was faster than him.

"I know, Mai's gonna be home soon," she said with a shrug. "I'll finish up the mug, just need to bake it and put a lacquer on it. Go ahead, and I know if she asks me we went to the park."

With a smirk, Naru said, "Excellent, thank you, Madoka." He stood up and grabbed Midori's carrier. "Gene! It's time to go!"

With a little help from Madoka, the infant was soon securely strapped in the carrier and Gene's stomps could be heard as he hurried into the room. "But, Papa! I don't wanna!" he whined, giving his father puppy dog eyes.

"But Mama misses you," Naru coerced, grabbing his keys off of the counter. "I think she might be making your favorite dinner right now." He had learned over the years that sometimes you needed to be stern and strict with your kids, but he also learned that sometimes you just needed to distract them from their tantrum long enough to lose interest. From the look in Gene's eyes, he might have just succeeded.

"Nuggets?" The boy's mouth was in an "o" and his eyes were wide. Naru chuckled and nodded, grabbing the carrier.

"That's right," he said, knowing that chicken nuggets were about the only thing the boy would eat these days. He would have been surprised if Mai was making something else. "Say 'goodbye' to Aunt Madoka and Chao."

Gene said his goodbyes and was soon leading his father out the door and to the car. Naru had just fixed Midori's carrier into the seat when his son began jumping up and down beside him. "Uncle Lin! Uncle Lin!"

"Hello, Gene," Lin said with a faint smile. He bent down to pat the boy on the head before turning to Naru. "Well?"

"She has no clue," Naru said, picking Gene up and walking around to the other side of the car. He opened the door and sat Gene in his car seat to buckle him in. "I take it Yasuhara agreed to watch Chao next weekend?"

"That's right, and you'll just keep the office closed for Saturday, right?" Lin shifted the bag of groceries in his arm as Naru closed the door to his car and nodded in answer. "Did you finish the mug?"

"Madoka's going to finish it off for me, but I think Mai will like it," he admitted, before opening the driver side door and getting in. He and Lin said their goodbyes as he drove off.

Lin and Naru were certainly hard men to love, but at least they knew it. A million second chances were more than enough proof of that. And while they could be insensitive and at times take their wives for granted, they were willing to go out of their way to make up for it.

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 **Hope you guys enjoyed! The original mug referenced here is from chapter 46 of Dangerous Souls so feel free to check that out if you haven't already. As for some other things I've mentioned in this chapter, I will go into detail and explain the backstories, I just haven't gotten there yet lol.**

 **Also I decided to include Lin on the "Hard to Love" theme, because well, he's Lin. Out of everyone in SPR those two have cut their wives' work out for them. I also thought that it would be nice to see Naru and Madoka interacting as friends instead of teacher/student/coworker. And Naru holding baby Midori is just too adorable to not write about.**


	21. Sick Day

**Well here we are! I was planning this one awhile ago but the last two chapters really made me wanna write them lol. So here you go, Gene is sick and Mai has to take him to the doctor, Naru has to watch Midori at work and things don't go as intended. Enjoy!**

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21-Sick Day

"I know you have to work today, but Lin is here, right? He can help you get work done while you watch her," Mai said as she dropped the diaper bag on the couch. She was holding her four year old on her hip who whimpered into her shoulder. "Besides, if Gene's contagious, I don't want Midori to get whatever he has."

Naru was about to counter with the fact that if the boy was contagious then it was likely that they all had the sickness in them, but thought better about it when he heard his son crank with a hoarse voice. The sound alone was enough to send a pang through the man's chest. No man wanted to hear his child in pain.

"Besides," Mai continued, adjusting the boy in her arms, "when Midori grows up do you really want to hear her complain about how we brought Gene here more than her?"

"We've had both of them here before," Naru countered as he placed a sleepy eighteen month old on the couch. "There's no reason for her to get upset over Gene coming with us to work before she was born."

"Tell that to an irrational six year old," Mai smirked as she swung her purse over her free arm. "If she's anything like Yukie, then she's going to be upset that we didn't invite her to our wedding." She grinned as she remembered that tantrum Monk and Ayako's six year old had earlier that week. "After his appointment, I'll call you and depending on what the doctor says I might need you to take Midori home tonight."

"That's fine," Naru said with a sigh as he walked his wife to the door. "I'll have Lin lock up and I'll be home after my last appointment."

Mai smiled as he opened the door for her. "Thank you, Naru. I'll see you tonight." Naru closed the door behind his wife and walked back to the couch where Midori had adjusted to sleeping with her butt up in the air. She looked comfortable enough, as he laid a blanket over her he decided she should sleep for a while.

He was grateful that his office had a very good view of the couch if he left the door open and went in to do some paperwork. Lin came into the office shortly thereafter, having dropped Chao off at his daycare for the day. "These files has all of the information we have of our potential clients this afternoon," the tall man said, before retreating to his own office.

For the next half hour Naru worked diligently to make sure he had all of his facts in order to properly interview his potential clients. But something began to eat at the back of his mind. Something telling him he was missing something. Something wasn't quite right. It finally bugged him enough to look up from the file he was reading and now he understood.

Lin seemed to have closed the door when he left the room. Swearing under his breath, he rushed to the door. But it was rather quiet, he noticed, Midori was probably still napping. She was known to take long naps at home, why would the office be any different?

As you might have guessed, Naru opened the door, only to swear again at the empty couch. At some point he had once heard the saying "Silence is golden," but found out very quickly that whoever said that never had children. Silence wasn't golden when you had two small children, especially one being a toddler. No, silence was definitely suspicious.

"Oh Midori," Naru half groaned as he came out into the common room of the office. The eighteen month old must've decided she wanted to explore unattended. "I'm going to have to find the babygates," he muttered to himself as he silently cursed his stupidity for not setting them up before his wife dropped off the toddler.

The only sign of the little girl was her shoes that she kicked off. Now the office wasn't very big to begin with, and the front door was still closed, not to mention the knob was still a little too large for Midori to wrap her sticky fingers around. She had to be somewhere. And then it hit him.

Briskly, he paced to the kitchenette where he found his daughter. How she had managed to climb onto the counter and stand on the handles of the faucet, just so she could lick the window behind it was beyond him.

 _My daughter's a window licker…literally…_ Naru thought with a look that was rather a cross between disappointment and distraught. "What on Earth are you doing, Midori?"

"Indo, Mama!" At one point, Naru honestly could not figure out the garbleygook the spouted from the mouths of babes no matter how hard he tried. Though he honestly never really tried hard enough, at least until he had children of his own. And even now he was convinced he would only be able to understand his own children's gibberish. "Iss Mama!"

 _Kiss Mama_ , he translated in his head. _At least that explains the licking._

He had picked up Midori and held her to his right side as he brought her out of the kitchen. Her wispy light brown hair (like her mother's) had once been up in two almost feather like pigtails on her head. Due to her nap and natural thinness of her hair, they were lopsided with the left's hair tie threatening to fall out completely.

 _So much for her taking a nap most of the day,_ Naru thought bitterly as he placed the girl on the couch and rummaged through the diaper bag. Midori rolled to her hands and knees and crawled over to him, completely removing one of her hair ties in the process.

Finally finding what he was looking for, a hairbrush, he lifted the girl up so that he could sit down. The couch had been perfect distance from the coffee table for him to place Midori (standing up), between his legs to keep her from running off while he fixed her hair. Couldn't have her running around looking wild as she did, could he?

"Papa! Pay!" Midori exclaimed trying to dislodge herself from her captor as he ran a brush through her static filled hair.

"No play, Midori," Naru said firmly as he grabbed the hair tie that had fallen to the floor as gathered the hair that belonged in it. The toddler continued to squirm and crank as he continued working. After a bit of effort the left side of her head looked more presentable. Naru gave an audible sigh. "Your mother is much better at this than I am."

"It's still a strange sight." The voice had caught the man by surprise. Looking up he saw the bleach haired monk he'd come to call his friend, struggling to not laugh.

"Midori's squirming? She's always been like that," Naru commented, trying to retie the right pigtail, only to have the girl jerk her head away that he almost pulled out a chunk of her hair.

"No, you doing your daughter's hair, though I must say you're failing miserably," Monk smirked, mimicking a tone the younger man had come to know was mocking his own.

"You want to try?" Naru offered the brush to the monk who took it and pulled Midori over to him.

"Midori! If you stay still long enough to fix your hair, Uncle Monk will give you a piggyback ride!" Monk told the girl excitedly, her eyes grew wide as she nodded furiously. Monk smiled and quickly pulled up the other half of her hair into its own pigtail to match the other side.

Once he was done, Midori turned around and hopped up and down with her arms up. "Uh! Uh!"

"Up you go!" Monk said as Midori squealed in laughter as she was lifted to the man's shoulders. She knotted her chubby hands into his blond hair. Monk turned around and grinned at the younger man sitting on the couch. "Mai texted me, I can't stay too long, but if you want to get some work done without interruption I can stay for the next hour."

"Long line at the doctor's?" Naru asked, standing up. Monk nodded.

"Yeah, a lot of kids seem to get sick around the end of summer vacations," he commented before galloping into the kitchenette making horse noises to Midori's pleasure.

Naru was silently grateful for the extra hand as he walked back into his office. He wasn't sure why watching his daughter was such a chore today. He had watched Gene at the office countless times, why was he so antsy this time?

Then he remembered that usually Mai was there with the boy at the office. Where they could both take turns parenting the child. Once in a while he did have to watch Gene alone at the office, but that didn't start happening until he was nearly three and verbal boundaries could be set easier. Midori was half that age and was still learning the concept of "no." With his only backup being Lin, he stood no chance in getting any work done.

 _At least she understood that faster than I did_ , he thought as he sat back down in his office. A little light flashed on his cell phone and he opened the waiting message from his wife.

 _Doctor's is taking longer than I thought. Let you know when we go in._

 _Still not in yet, sent Monk to help you. M must be running amuck! :)_

The texts were sent twenty minutes apart, but Naru couldn't help but smirk. She knew he wasn't going to get anything done, so she took initiative. And warned him even though he didn't have his phone.

He put the phone down and went back to his paperwork. All too soon did Monk have to leave, handing the toddler back to her father. She waved goodbye to the monk as he left before turning back to Naru with a grin on her face. "Nack!"

"You're hungry?" Naru asked quizzically as the girl hopped up and down in his arms, flailing her own.

"Rawbewy! Rawbewy!" With a sigh, Naru walked out of his office and toward the kitchenette. He opened the fridge to see the lunchbox Mai had packed with snacks. It was mostly filled with strawberries, as that was the only thing Midori seemed to want these days.

With one hand, he pulled out the Tupperware from the lunchbox and opened it revealing strawberries cut up to bite size pieces. Midori nearly squirmed out of his grasp as she reached for them. "Calm down, you're going to get some," he chided, holding the bowl up to her reach. She shoved her chubby hand into the bowl and pulling out some berries before shoving them in her mouth.

"I see you've learned your manners from your brother," Naru commented dryly as his phone rang in his pocket. He went to put down the bowl, much to his daughter's displeasure. "I'm not putting them away, I just need to see if this is Mama." Sure enough, it was. "Moshi, moshi."

 _"Hey, they still haven't seen us yet,"_ Mai's voice rang through the speaker, as Naru wedged the phone between his cheek and shoulder so that he could hold up the bowl to Midori.

"I thought you made an appointment?" Naru asked as he walked into the common room, placing the bowl on the coffee table and Midori right in front of it.

 _"I did, but it seems they triple booked the time slot on accident,"_ she explained with an exasperated sigh. Naru could hear a rather painful sounding cough in the background. _"They are also short staffed today and four kids chose the perfect time to puke. I'm in the waiting room with Gene and believe it or not he actually took a nap on my lap."_

"At least one of our kids took a nap."

 _"Midori woke up right after I left, didn't she?"_

"Managed to squirm off the couch and climb onto the counter in the kitchen so she could lick the window," Naru replied with a smile. He heard his wife chuckle on the other end.

 _"Oh! Naru, they're finally seeing us,"_ Mai said breaking her laughter. _"I actually wanted to call you to let you know I'm pretty sure the pack 'n play is still in the closet of my office."_

"Thanks, I'm going to need that," he replied, looking over to see a pink splotch all around his daughter's mouth and chin. "I'll see you tonight."

 _"Love you!"_

"Love you." He hung up the phone and noticed the strawberries were all gone. He gave an odd look to the little girl in front of him. "You ate all of that?"

She grinned, looking up at him with wide hazel eyes. "Pain, Papa! Pain!" She held up her juice covered hands and Naru looked down at the floor in front of the girl with a sigh. She had smushed the strawberries into the carpet to "paint" it.

"Midori…" he half groaned as he shook his head. He picked her up and carried her to the kitchenette to clean her up. He sat her on the counter so that he could wet a washcloth. Looking back at her he had the fleeting suspicion that his wife must have been just like this as a child.

Then Midori shoved a finger up her nose and jumped when she realized it was her finger that was slimy and not her nose. She examined her finger about to stick it in her mouth as Naru caught it with the washcloth. _Definitely_ , he determined, _I certainly was not like this as a child._

Once she was cleaned up, he brought her into Mai's office. He put her down and she wandered around while he looked in the closet for the pack 'n play. Sure enough, there it was in the closet. Perfect timing too. Naru glanced at his watch and realized his first appointment would be there momentarily and he had to fix the carpet.

He set Midori in the playpen and went to grab the diaper bag. Mai had to have packed some toys for the girl to play with. Once the girl was settled, Naru went out into the common room to do something about the stain in the carpet. He ended up moving the coffee table over it and decided it could wait.

 _Ding-ding! Ding-ding!_

Perfect timing indeed. Naru's first appointment had just walked in. He grabbed Lin from his office and invited the client to sit down.

Meanwhile, in the playpen, Midori was bored. She didn't want her teddy bear right now. No, she wanted Gene's green racecar. Her favorite one and she could see the tail end of it sticking out of one of the pockets of the diaper bag. If she could just tip over the pen-

Standing up, she put her hands against the netted wall and pushed with all her might, but got nowhere fast. She tried again and again, only to huff and push her face and upper body against it in her own dramatic way. Turns out that was just what she needed. The playpen began to topple over and Midori quickly rolled her way out of getting hurt and landed just outside of the fallen pen.

Her eyes lit up at her newfound freedom and she scurried over to the bag to fetch the green car. Now she was very happy lying on her stomach and driving the car around on the carpet.

Back in the common room, Naru managed to debunk virtually all of the man's claims, much to his dismay. Still, Lin took careful notes as always as he sat with his laptop. Naru leaned back with a sigh as the potential client left in a huff and a slammed door. "When is the next appointment?"

 _Ding-ding! Ding-ding!_

Lin didn't have to answer as an elderly man waddled his way into the office. "I'm here to see Davis-san? I have an appointment," the man's voice wavered uncertainly.

"Have a seat, Sonozaki-san," Naru said gesturing to the empty seat on the couch.

Midori managed to doze off for a little bit in Mai's office. Not very long, but when she did wake up, she wasn't quite sure where she was. This wasn't her room. This wasn't her home. It looked a little familiar but not enough to settle her. She frowned as she sat up to see she was completely alone. "Mama?" she called quietly. "Papa?" Her frown deepened as tears welled in her eyes. She took a deep breath and-

"PAPA! MAMA!" she wailed, rubbing her eyes. She didn't like the stuff coming out of them, but that only seemed to make it worse.

Outside, all three men jolted at the sound of the cry coming from the closed office. Naru apologized and excused himself to retrieve his daughter. "Midori? Midori, what's wrong?" he called soothingly. "How did you get out of-"

But he didn't finish as his daughter's face, filled with tears and snot, flashed him a look of betrayed relief. "Papa!" she crawled over to him and he picked her up, but she wouldn't look at him.

He pulled out a tissue and did his best to wipe her face with her turning her head away every chance she got. "It's okay, I'm here," he said reassuringly. He tossed the tissue and rubbed her back in slow circles. "Want to work with Papa? You might as well since you're here."

He walked back out to the common room, with a calmer Midori. "My wife has our son at the doctor, so she needed to come with me for the day. I hope you don't mind," Naru explained sitting down in his seat and picking up the file he left on the table. "As you were saying, Sonozaki-san?"

Midori gave a sniffle as she sat on her father's lap looking quizzically at the file in front of her. A lot of words and no pictures. Too plain for her tastes. So she clutched her father's shirt and smushed her face into his chest. "How old is she?" Sonozaki asked after telling the rest of his tale.

"Eighteen months," Naru answered, looking down at the girl. "Midori, can you say 'hi' to Sonozaki-san?"

Midori lifted her face from his shirt and looked at the old man, who gave her a charming smile. She smiled bashfully and clung closer to her father, who only shook his head. "She's not normally this shy."

"Oh that's fine," Sonozaki chuckled. "I have a granddaughter a little older than her and she is the same way. She's also living with her mother in my house which is why I came here to ask for your help. She hasn't become a target yet, but I don't want her to be in danger if the activity continues."

"I'll converse with the rest of my team and we'll let you know our decision on your claim by tomorrow, Sonozaki-san," Naru said as Lin stood up to show the man to the door. Midori climbed up further on her father's torso to wrap her arms around his neck and squeeze tight. "What's wrong Midori?" he asked in a gentle voice, stroking her back.

His grip on the girl tightened when he felt her shaking. _I hope she's not getting sick too_ , he thought as Midori rubbed her face into his neck. "Mama…" she cranked with a sniff. "Want Mama…"

Naru let out a breath and patted her back. _She barely took a nap and Mai's not normally gone this long,_ he thought with a sigh. _She's had a long day, I wonder if Mai's has been any better._

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, which he had put on silent before his first client came in, and saw he had a voicemail. He placed the device to his ear to listen to it.

 _"Hey, we're heading home from the doctor's now,"_ Mai's voice rang through the slight static that comes from talking on the phone outside. _"I just realized you're probably with a client right now so you won't get this until later, but I need you to pick up Gene's prescription for me. He has strep and I don't want to keep him out longer than I have to. It should be ready by the time you're finished up but if you can't get it I can always see if Keiko can pick it up for me. Thanks, love you!"_

"Mama?" Midori picked her head up and looked curiously at the device in her father's hand. Naru knowingly smiled.

"Yes, that was Mama," he said quietly as he slid the phone back into his pocket. He glanced at his watched and determined that the prescription must have been ready by then and headed for his wife's office. "Lin, I'm going-" He didn't finish what he was going to say as he saw the room had been tidied up by his assistant.

"Go home. Run whatever errand Mai gave you. I'll write up the reports and we'll discuss Sonozaki-san's claim tomorrow," Lin said handing Naru the diaper bag that was all packed up.

With a smirk, Naru said, "Thank you. I'll see you tomorrow."

He made a stop at his own desk to grab his keys but was out the door moments later. Shortly thereafter, he was walking into the apartment he shared with the rest of his family with an exhausted Midori in his arm. It was so hard being little.

He found Mai in the kitchen stirring some type of stew over the stove. She greeted him with a kiss and gushed over the tired little girl. They managed to swap places with him stirring and her taking their daughter. "Here you go, Mi-chan!" Mai cooed, buckling the girl in her high chair and handing her a sippy-cup of milk. She ran a hand through her still short brown hair and took the wooden spoon from her husband. "Thanks, but I got it, go see Gene he's wanted to tell all about the puke he saw in the doctors office today."

"They didn't clean it up before they saw you?" he asked with a raised brow.

"They tried, luckily we weren't put in one of the rooms they were cleaning, but we happened to pass a room where a kid was still puking," Mai replied with a sigh as she continued stirring. "It's all he wants to talk about and I finally dodged the subject by telling him I had to make dinner. Now he's on the couch waiting-wha-"

"Papa Mama iss!" Midori exclaimed from her chair.

In the midst of Mai's rant, Naru realized just how much she had to deal with when watching one child let alone two. Granted he also knew the struggle having watched Midori at the office for most of the day, but it honestly gave him a better appreciation for the woman. Maybe that was why he turned her to face him and kissed her.

Then again, maybe it was a certain deceased medium who gave him the nudge to go through with the motion.

When they broke apart, Mai looked up at him in confusion. With a face straighter than he meant to give, he said, "Have I told you how much I appreciate you?"

Mai couldn't contain herself as she laughed out loud. Naru didn't take the reaction personally, he knew it was her way of releasing stress. Wiping a tear from her eye she calmed down and said, "You know, I could stand to hear it more. Now go and see your son! Dinner is in ten!"

She pushed him out of the kitchen with Midori giggling at the both of them and all Naru could do was smile.

* * *

 **Poor Midori, it's so hard being little. As for the way she speaks (pronunciation of words that is and omitting them) I got that from my own experiences in babysitting and stories my mother tells about me. That also included some of Midair's actions (I occasionally babysit a set of twins who like to stand on either side of a glass door and lick each other through it. Their dad walked by and just said "my greatest creations are window-lickers" and I laughed so hard).**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**


	22. Only a Nightmare

**So I have another one for you guys, it's short but it serves its purpose. I've done a lot of chapters especially recently in Naru's perspective which is fun don't get me wrong, but I thought it was time we had a little more from Mai's view. Hope you enjoy!**

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22-Only a Nightmare

 _She refused to sit down when she arrived. She simply gritted her teeth and clenched her fists as she stared down the door in front of her. Nurses approached her trying to coax her to sit, but she ignored them. She was not going to move until they told her he was going to be fine._

He's going to be fine. He has to. _She told herself as she continued to glare at the door, briefly wondering if he was like this when she was in the operating room earlier that year._

 _She didn't flinch when a hand was placed on her shoulder. "Mai, maybe you should sit down-"_

 _"I'm_ fine, _Monk," she spat. She was far too wound up to sit, but couldn't seem to bring herself to pace. Her fists tightened as she let out a deep shaky breath._ Please be fine…

 _Flashes of memory came to her as she closed her eyes. Naru had been in the hospital very recently due to using his PK as a last resort on a case. He was going to be fine as long as he did what the doctor said, which was to avoid any strenuous activity._

Avoid using your PK would have been the proper wording. _Mai had already given him an earful the moment he woke up. She didn't care if she was nagging, he knew how dangerous his abilities were, he should have been more careful! Had he done so, he wouldn't be in this mess!_

 _But Mai knew those were empty words. She was nagging. Naru wasn't as careless as he had been in the past. He wasn't going to allow anyone to rile him up to use his PK for an unnecessary reason. He had come a long way since he was seventeen._

 _She suddenly felt a hollow, yet heavy feeling in the pit of her stomach. She shook her trembling hands before balling them in fists again. Her heart thudded in her chest as her breaths came in shallow._

No way. There's just no way. He can't be-

 _The door to the operating room opened and the doctor stepped out. He readjusted his glasses and removed his mask. "Davis-san?"_

 _There was no need to ask. She was standing mere feet in front of him. It was only her and Monk in the waiting area. Still, with a steadier voice than she thought she could manage, she said, "Yes?"_

 _The doctor let out a breath that sounded pained. Not physical pain. Emotional. And Mai knew for sure, but she let him continue anyway. "I'm very sorry, Davis-san, but your husband…I'm sorry, he didn't make it."_

 _"What do you mean, 'he didn't make it?'" Monk bellowed from the other side of the room. He was reacting for the both of them at this point._

 _"His heart gave out and we were unable to resuscitate him," the doctor explained, shifting his gaze back to the now widow. "Again, I'm very sorry. My nurses are cleaning him up so you can say your goodbyes."_

 _But if Mai heard him, she never let on. She was catatonic, even her trembling had ceased. Her eyes were glued to the floor. She was vaguely aware of Monk arguing further with the doctor for answers, but she knew it was true. She knew before the man walked out of the operating room. She felt him leave, as though his soul took a piece of hers with it._

 _She hadn't moved from her spot in front of the door even when the doctor left. She didn't flinch when Monk placed a hand on her shoulder. She didn't react the way most grieving wives did. "Mai, I know you're upset and probably angry-"_

 _"That's just it," she croaked. Her throat had long since gone dry. It tightened and clenched as she mustered the words, but she refused to let that stop her. "I can't be mad at him for using his PK."_

 _And just as she said it, she saw the scene replay before her eyes. She was cleaning up the living room while Naru was getting a snack ready for Gene. Neither of them were paying attention when the two year old decided to climb up on the counter. Naru and Mai turned as watched in slow-motion as Gene tumbled backward. Head first, he fell toward the tiled floor, only to stop midair. His body was gently laid on the ground as she was finally able to move, only to catch her husband's collapsing body_.

 _"Without it, he wouldn't have saved…" She stopped as she registered the tears falling from her eyes. Her breathing hitched and she placed a hand on her stomach that was starting the swell. This was it. She wasn't even thirty and yet she was a widow with soon to be two children. And with that her trembling returned._

 _"Mai…" Monk said, but could only guide her stiffly to one of the chairs in the waiting area. He sat down next to her and wrapped his arms around her as she finally started to sob. His grip tightened as her wails reached a higher pitch. "I'm sorry, kiddo, I'm so sorry."_

 _How was she going to explain this to Lin and Madoka? Luella and Martin? SPR? She knew Ayako had called Monk to be with her, but wasn't sure she had called anyone else. Gene was with Michiru, so he was safe for the moment. But how was he going to take this?_

Why? Why now? I need you Naru! _Her internal cries would never reach him, she knew. With another shaky sob, she thought,_ At least, you'll be with Gene again.

* * *

Mai woke with a start. She sat up in her bed vaguely away of tears drying on her cheeks as she glanced at the time. _Three thirty,_ she noted with a deep breath. _Same time as always._

She gave another shaky breath as she turned to look at the man who lay beside her. The moonlight illuminated his peaceful looking face as he slept and a wave of relief washed over her. _It wasn't real. It was just a dream._

New tears pricked at her eyes before they fell. It wasn't uncommon for Mai to awake in the middle of the night from a nightmare from time to time. In fact, it happened quite a bit when she was pregnant with her son. She knew exactly what to expect when she found out she was pregnant again. Normally, with almost a sixth sense for it, Naru would wake up just as she did and comfort her, but tonight was different.

Naru stayed asleep when she woke up, and she was silently grateful. She had worried him enough over the years, especially in the last few months. They had taken on two separate cases, while Naru dealt with a spirit haunting a pub, she was assisting the police in an investigation of a serial killer. Naru was not happy about it, and even made an appearance at a few of the crime scenes. After a dangerous confrontation with the killer, they both decided that Mai should take another step back from investigating, for the sake of their children.

But the only regret Mai had with that decision, was that now Naru was always going to be in the danger zone. Granted he wasn't such a magnet for it as she was, but it still scared the ever-living daylight out of her. This was not the first time she had a nightmare of him dying. In fact, it was the fourth time this month.

What it was a first for, was the way he died. Not only did he die using his PK, but he did it to save their son. It wasn't as though he were being careless. She couldn't be angry with him.

Luckily it was only a nightmare, so she slid back down into the covers. Tears still fell from her eyes as she faced her husband. She closed her eyes as she scooted closer to him. Grasping her hands into his shirt, she kept her head down in case he did wake up. All she wanted to be as close to him as possible. It had been only a dream, but it felt real. The only thing more real, was the heat of his body next to her. With it she drew comfort before finally falling asleep.

* * *

 **I've done a lot of Naru's fear of losing her, but not so much the other way around. I hope you guys enjoyed it! I think the next chapter might be bath time with Gene and Midori. Please leave a review! :)**


	23. M&M

**So, I'm a little too happy with this chapter lol. I got this idea when my cousin was telling me how her fiance's sister is potty training her daughter and well and very similar situation** **happened. Hope you enjoy!**

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23-M&M

You see, when you have a child, there are certain milestones that are important but you might not want to broadcast them. Naru was learning this as he looked at his wife questioningly. "You're going to Pavlov our son," he said in an even tone. It wasn't a question, but a fact. One that caused Mai to roll her eyes.

"C'mon, Naru," she chided, crossing her arms. "Even I know that Pavlov conditioned dogs to associate a bell with food. I'm not trying to make Gene associate using the bathroom with candy. Then he'd be peeing everywhere just to get a freaking M&M."

"Sounds about right," he said with a straight face. She knew it was meant as a tease but she wasn't going to be deterred.

"He's passed two and if we have more kids, I'd rather only change one diaper at a time, thank you very much!" She huffed and spun around, stomping her foot in the process. Naru raised a brow.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" He asked with a most uncharacteristically confused look as possible.

"What?" Then realized what he was thinking and burst out laughing. "No, Naru, I'm not pregnant. But I wouldn't mind another Gene running around, not for another year or two probably." She put her hands on her hips and smirked. "Just watch, Keiko got Haru potty trained within two months with this technique."

"That's what it's called? I thought it was conditioning," Naru teased, earning a jab in the said and an eyeroll.

"It'll work!" She stomped away.

Sure enough, several weeks later, Gene was starting to use the restroom on his own, only needing minimal help. He also gained more of a sweet tooth than he had before, courteously of the M&Ms he was given every time he went to the bathroom without an accident. Mai stuck her tongue out at her husband and then grinned in satisfaction as her plan had worked, leaving Naru to sigh and shrug in defeat. They had succeeded in Pavloving their son.

"You're such a drama queen," Mai said with a roll of her eyes. She picked up her purse and swung it over her shoulder. "I'm meeting Madoka and Ayako for lunch, so it's up to you and Gene to get your mom a birthday present."

"Why do I-" But Naru never got the chance to finish. It was one of the few days off he ever took and he wasn't exactly planning to spend it shopping.

"Because she's your mother, you should know her well enough to buy her a present," Mai said, sliding her phone in her purse, earning a blank stare. She rolled her eyes, sometimes her husband could be so dense! "I sent you a picture of what to get her. You should be able to find it at the mall." She walked up and stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Gene should be up in an hour or so, make sure he uses the bathroom before you leave. I'd rather him fall in our toilet than a public one."

And with that, Mai left and Naru was alone with a sleeping Gene. Naru figured he would enjoy the quiet while it lasted, his son was not known as the silent type. If it weren't for the fact that the boy's face was almost identical to his when he was that age, Naru might question the parentage of this child. Then again, he wouldn't question it at all. Mai was not a cheater.

Soon enough, Gene was awake and Naru made sure he went to the bathroom before they left. Twice. And they were at the mall before they knew it. But upon walking through those doors, Oliver Davis realized he had made a grave mistake.

You see, he had been so concerned about making sure Gene didn't have an accident, by making him go to the bathroom twice, he forgot to do so himself. His bladder was not happy with his stupidity. Neither was his mind for the matter. With several curses running through his head, he located the nearest restroom. There was no way he was going to make it through a shopping trip and the drive home, so he brought Gene in with him.

Luckily, it wasn't busy in there. A couple of the stalls were taken but none of the urinals were. "Gene, make sure you don't touch anything," he said sternly, and the two year old nodded and held onto his father's pantleg as the man did his business.

Naru and Mai had gotten used to a live of no privacy, seeing as Gene was not a baby you could ignore. When he was learning to walk he took a nap on the floor of their living area only to wake up to find that Mai wasn't there. He had scrunched up his face in anger and betrayal before standing up and marching to find the woman. How dare she leave him to use the bathroom!

Mai shrieked when Gene pushed open the bathroom door and stomped over to her. He gave her a pout and grabbed onto her leg. Naru had come running in at her scream, thinking something bad had happened, only to sweatdrop at the scene before him. But that's another story.

Naru zipped up his pants when he was finished and Gene looked up at him in awe. "Good job, Papa! Papa standed! You get two M&Ms!" The little boy was jumping with pride for his father. He wasn't going to let him go unrewarded for using that bathroom like a grown up.

For probably the first time ever, Naru felt his cheeks grow hot. And it was because of his son. Parents were supposed to embarrass their children, not the other way around. _Mai planned this, I'm sure of it,_ he determined, ignoring his son and moving over to the sink to wash his hands. _Madoka probably gave her the idea._

"Papa! M&M!" The little boy was still jumping but now held the small piece of candy in his hand up to his father.

Naru dried his hands and looked down in confusion. "Where did you get that?" Gene refused to answer and proceeded to try to plop the candy in his mouth, but Naru moved quicker.

"Papa!" Gene whined as Naru resisted the urge to sigh as he threw out the M&M from God-knows-where. The scene was interrupted by cackling coming from one of the stalls.

 _This can't be good,_ he internally groaned as the stall opened and out came Monk, trying to contain his laughter. Naru sent him a glare and the man began cackling again. There was no way he was going to live this down.

Monk went over to the sink and washed his hands before drying them and looking down at Gene. "Are you potty training Papa?" he asked, struggling to contain himself.

Gene puffed out his chest and grinned with a nod of his head. That did it. Monk was rolling once again. Naru just sighed and picked up his son and left the restroom.

Monk didn't mention the spectacle he had seen when he stopped in on Monday, but when Naru left his office to speak with a potential client, he was not surprised to see the bowl of M&Ms sitting on his desk. Gene was very pleased when Mai brought him in later for a visit.

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 **Again, I laughed way too hard when I wrote this. Hope you guys enjoyed and you please review! Thank you!**


	24. Lecture

**So this is a little scene I came up with a while ago after watching the Conjuring again. I didn't finish it and forgot about it until I opened it today and decided to finish it. The case mentioned here is the fourth one in my other fic Dangerous Souls and events after that case can also be found in that fic. You might want to check it out before you read this, but if you don't no worries. Hope you guys enjoy.**

* * *

24-Lecture

"This video was taken during one of our cases several years ago," Naru explained from the side of the screen. "Father Brown, if you will."

"Of course," John said as he stepped forward. "In my career I have dealt with many possessions, but only a few of demonic nature. This was one of my firsts to deal with without another priest."

John continued to explain the case as Mai's eyes scanned the class in front of her. She was seated at the professor's desk while said man was sitting with his students enjoying the presentation. The professor was a friend of Martin's and asked if Naru would be able to give a presentation on demonic possession and hauntings that he has dealt with in Japan. Though if it weren't for the fact that Naru had promised to do this months in advance, Mai wasn't sure if he would have still done it.

He had already recruited John to join them in England seeing as he was the one who exorcised possessed victims and spoke fluent English. However, Naru was reluctant to go through with flying all the way to Europe, especially since learning his wife was having a baby boy, and she was insistent on coming along.

Ironically, when she found out on the ultrasound the gender of the baby, Naru was on a case involving a demonic entity. And that's why Mai understood Naru's apprehension to do this. He told her about the dream the demon showed him where she was killed along with their soon to be son. It was unsettling that the demon knew just what she was having. But the exorcism was a success and they hadn't been bothered for the last month.

"During this case we were dealing with not just one, but three demonic entities," John explained as the possessed girl on the screen was tapping on the bedpost. "While you might not be able to understand what she is saying, she is tapping on the headboard. She is actually using Morse Code to contact the other entities on the property."

"Her goal was to target the other members of our team, giving us reason to open the door and let her free," Naru finished as the clip ended and the lights came on. "Demonic entities will try everything to find your weakness and use it against you. Isn't that right, Father Brown?"

"Yes, on that case specifically the entity threatened the wellbeing of my younger sister, despite the fact that she was all the way in Australia," John explained. "Sometimes spirits will figure out things about you by listening to things you might have said during the time you were ear the haunting. Demonic entities, however, are not afraid to enter your mind without possessing you and figure out what or who you care about. On this case I never mentioned my sister once."

"They will also tend to choose a specific member of your team to target," Mai piped up from her seat to the side. "On this case specifically, I was hospitalized twice." A girl in the front row of the class raised her hand. Mai nodded for her question.

"Why were you hospitalized?" the girl asked, Mai could almost feel Naru's tension from across the room.

"Well, as my husband might tell you, I'm a bit of a danger magnet," Mai began, earning a small chuckle from the class. "There hasn't been a case I can think of where I wasn't attacked or injured in some way. During this case, I was first sent to the hospital when I was reviewing evidence and I had a vision, but while I was unconscious my wrists started bleeding. That was difficult to explain to the doctors."

"What about the second time?" a boy in the back asked.

"Another member of our team and I were in the garden of the hotel, the entities created a barrier around the gazebo we were standing in," she continued, leaning her elbows on the desk as she rolled up her sleeves. "I walked right into it and my arms got burned pretty bad. I still can see a few scars."

"Blue shirt in the second to last row," Naru called with a nod to the young man in that direction.

"Why do you still hunt for demons?" the boy asked, crossing his arms. "If it's so dangerous?"

Mai smiled at the young man and shot a look to the two men. "For those two, it's a bit of a passion for them," she said, feeling a little restless and standing up as gracefully as she could with her bulging belly. "It's become a passion for me too, but to be honest, I really liked helping people."

"Yes?" John said, pointing to a girl to the side.

"If a demonic entity has the ability to know things about you without you saying them, would it have been possible for your sister to be attacked even though she was in another country?"

"I considers ourselves fortunate enough to not know the exact answer to that question," John answered somberly. "Though there are many theories that both support and deny that a demonic entity would be able to harm someone far away from the haunting. Some believe that they are able to transport through portals to follow through with their threats."

"You, in the pink headband," Mai said nodding to a girl in the middle. "What's your question?"

"There are a lot of theories and stories about ghost hunters, like you, having a spirit attach to them when they leave a haunting. Is that true?"

Mai felt her husband and friend's eyes fall on her. Her smile faded and she nodded. "I can say for a fact that it is true," she admitted. "Actually, one of the entities we dealt with during this case attached to me and I didn't know for months." She saw a few hands shoot up. "What it wanted was to break me, to possess me. It started by giving me nightmares and making it hard for me to sleep. Finally when it showed itself to me, I was so sleep deprived with insomnia I honestly thought I had made him up." A few hands went down. Mai nodded to the professor who had raised his hand.

"How did you remove yourself from the demon?" the man asked, Mai managed to smile.

"Once I finally told a close friend of mine about my nightmares and seeing this being in them, he told me I should talk to Father Brown," she explained shooting a look to the man. "After I explained what was going on he helped me get rid of the demon." Another hand went up. "Yes."

"So it possessed you, right? And you had to be exorcised?"

"Exorcisms are most commonly used to remove an unwelcome spirit from a person or property, however these cases are not always possession," John explained. "In Mai's case the demonic entity had attached to her and was working to possess her, but we were able to stop it just in time."

"We are reaching the end of our scheduled time," Naru interrupted, stepping forward. "Are there any more questions?"

Hands went up but a voice spoke from the very back though he had not raised his. "Rumor has it you have psychokinetic abilities," the young man said, leaning back with his arms crossed. "You were able to throw a metal block into the wall."

"Both of those statements are true," Naru answered emotionlessly.

"Prove it." At that Mai took a step forward with her hand on her hips.

"I'm afraid Dr. Davis will not be performing any demonstrations today," she interrupted before her husband could respond. "Were there any other questions?"

"I knew you were a fraud," the same young man said and Mai could see a certain gleam in her husband's eyes.

Naru turned to her with the faintest smirk on his face. "I suppose I don't have a choice. Mai, the spoons," he said as his wife glared at him but went back to the desk and pulled out a few spoons from her bag.

Mai handed him a spoon and handed one to John as well. She kept one in her hand and read the look her husband sent her. "I guess I'll go first," she said with a shrug as she held the spoon in her left hand. She remembered the trick she had learned on one of her first cases. She stared intently at the metal in her hand and allowed her body heat to soften it. She took the index finger of her right hand and pushed the tip in the spoon over as it bent over her thumb.

The class was in awe as they watched the spectacle. The young man in the back, however, was not impressed. "I asked Dr. Davis to show us his PK not for you to show us a cheap magic trick."

Mai smirked as she held up the spoon. "You have good eyes back there." She glanced over to see that John had done the same trick. "As you can see Father Brown also has the ability to bend spoons, though not with the use of PK."

"The form of PK Mai and I demonstrated is for Static Targets or PK-ST," John explained. "It's the most common form of PK however is also the easiest to forge. Just as you saw."

"Need to know the trickster's tricks, so you won't be fooled," Mai said, shooting a look to her husband. "Well, Dr. Davis? They're waiting."

Naru smirked and stepped forward giving everyone as good an angle as he could of the spoon. After taking a second to focus his energy, he placed his finger on the tip of the spoon as everyone watched it bend with ease. Much like the case at Yuasa High School, the head of the spoon snapped off as he took his finger off of the metal. "Is that enough proof for you?" Naru quipped as he looked up to see the shocked faces.

"Excellent presentation, Dr. Davis," the professor said as he clapped his hands and stood up. "Class, some applause for the effort Dr. Davis, Mrs. Davis, and Father Brown have given us?" The class, still in shock, slowly began to clap. "I hope you all have taken detailed notes, as you may reference this presentation in your research projects. I thank you all again for leaving all your phones and recording devices with me and as you leave you may pick them up. Class dismissed."

He pulled out the box of phones he kept under his desk. One by one the students stopped by the desk to get their phones as the professor walked up to the presenters. "Thank you, I know that you came a long way to do this, but I know that this will help them understand the content more," he said, nodding to each of them. "Will you be in town long? I'd like to treat you all to dinner as a thank you."

"We'll be staying with his parents for another week," Mai answered with a nod toward her husband. "I think dinner would be lovely, what do you think?"

Impassive as always, Naru nodded. "Dinner would be nice," he agreed, Mai knew he was saying it through his teeth.

"Excellent, my last class on Friday ends at six, would seven or seven thirty work for you?" Mai and Naru nodded and the professor turned his attention to the priest. "I do hope you'll be joining us, Father, I would love to hear more about how you became a clergyman so young."

Naru and Mai carefully stepped aside as the two conversed and they gathered their things together. "We're scheduled to leave on Saturday and you decide to accept a dinner invitation the night before?" Naru questioned as he pulled his flashdrive from the computer.

"You decided to demonstrate your PK to the entire class," Mai countered, throwing the bent and broken spoons back into her bag. "Whatever happened to if someone called you a fake they never believed you in the first place?"

"Point." He returned to gathering his folders into the briefcase he brought. He saw Mai bending over to pick up the tip of the spoon that he had broken with much difficulty thanks to her swollen belly. He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness and rounded the corner of the desk. He placed his hands at her waist and guided her back into a standing position, she gave him a look as he whispered, "Trying to advertise to the students? I thought I was the only one who got to see you bend like that."

She nudged him with her elbow as he smirked and bent down to pick up the spoon. She held her hand out as he placed the metal in her hand. "You're the one who can't clean up your own mess, like leaving your underwear in the bathroom?" she teased as she dropped it in her purse only to wince and let out a labored breath.

Naru was next to her in an instant. Her contorted face softened when she felt his hand on hers. "Are you okay?" he asked her in Japanese. Mai chuckled and grabbed his hand, placing it on her stomach. His brow furrowed as he felt his son's arm, or might have been his leg, push through the skin of his mother's belly. The concerned look on his face made Mai laugh out loud.

"He got me in the ribs a second ago," she said, as her husband took his hand off of her and revealed the small bump that moved briefly before disappearing. "And you thought I was kidding when I said he was active. He's gonna be the first picked for kickball, that's for sure."

Naru continued to stare at her stomach with confusion. Mai waved a hand in front of his face and raised her brow.

"You okay?"

"And that doesn't freak you out?" Now that sent Mai into laughter again, gathering the attention of the priest and professor.

"Thanks for cleaning up, I would've helped if you told me," John said with a smile as Mai wiped away a tear of laughter. "Everything okay?"

"Yes, oof!" Mai jumped as her baby decided to jab her in the ribs. "He's a bit more active than usual." She pointed to her stomach. "He's anxious to come out, I think."

"Is he still kicking?" John asked with bright eyes. Mai nodded with a grin as she placed the priest's hand on her belly like she did with Naru's.

The priest's face lit up as Mai felt her baby shift. The professor smiled and looked to her as he asked, "When are you due?"

"In just under nine weeks," Mai replied just as her son gave a particular kick to the priest's hand. "Wild, isn't it?"

"He's definitely active and healthy," John said with a smile. "My niece was the same way when my sister-in-law was pregnant with her."

"The next class is coming in, we better leave before we cause a disruption," the professor said with a smile and led the group out of the classroom. "I need to get going, my wife won't be happy if I get home late and the food is cold. Take care and I'll see you on Friday."

"Good night, Professor Doyle," Mai called after the man as she followed her husband and friend in the opposite direction. "That went well," she said as she got into the car Naru had driven to the campus.

"I thought so, too, Professor Doyle is a very nice man," John said with a smile as he buckled his seatbelt in the back seat. "This lecture was a bit informal compared to what I've done with the church."

"But in those cases you were lecturing fellow clergymen, right?" Mai asked, turning as much as comfortable in her seat. "This time you were talking to college students, most of them were only nineteen."

"That's true." John turned his attention to the man behind the wheel. "Do you do lectures often when you come back to England, Naru?"

"Usually if my father asks me," he replied emotionlessly as he pulled out onto the road.

"This is the first time you brought me," Mai quipped with a grin.

"And?" he asked with a side-glance to her. "Wasn't it as boring as I told you it would be?"

Rolling her eyes, she shook her head. "No."

"Even worse?"

"Actually, it was fun," she admitted, placing her hand on his that sat on the middle console. "It's nice talking about our cases and for the most part the class seemed really interested. I wouldn't mind doing this again, I'm sure there are some colleges in Japan that would like to have us seeing as parapsychology is becoming more prevalent. I know Ayako wanted to set up something similar for nurses and doctors who either deal with the paranormal or victims of it. We could really-" She stopped when she felt his hand grip hers and heard his soft chuckling. "What did I say?"

"Nothing," he said with a shake of his head. He let go of her hand and placed his back on the wheel. "I just haven't done any lectures in Japan."

"And? It'll be a good way for us to grow the business. Get SPR's name out there and we might pick up clients along the way. I have a good feeling about this, Naru! Let's do it!"

John decided to keep his thoughts to himself in the back seat and smiled sheepishly as he watched.

Naru slowed and stopped at a light before turning to his wife and placing his hand on her stomach. "I agree, but let's wait a little bit. Performing lectures around the country requires a lot of traveling, when our son is born cases will be hard enough."

She placed her hand on top of his and rolled her eyes. "Yes, dear," she said mockingly.

"You're going to plan this out with Ayako and Madoka aren't you?"

"What makes you say that?"

John could be heard chuckling in the background at Mai's feigned innocence. "I think you guys will be able to work it out just fine," he commented.

* * *

 **So I was watching the Conjuring and the scene where Ed and Lorraine Warren are giving a lecture on possession came on and I'm like "Ghost Hunt! Naru would so do that!" And this happened. And then I was watching Criminal Minds and figured Naru would probably be similar to Reid when JJ was pregnant. Naru would probably do his own research and spout knowledge here and there while teasing Mai only for her to be like "just feel the kid kick now imagine that going on _inside_ you."**

 **Hope you enjoyed please review and Dangerous Souls should be updated next week! Thanks for reading!**


	25. The Name

**I had the idea for this chapter for a while now I just needed to put it to words. Hope you enjoy, Dangerous Souls will be updated soon with an explanation!**

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25-The Name

"Congratulations, Davis-san, you have given birth to a beautiful baby boy!" the nurse declared as she placed the wailing infant on Mai's chest. Mai let out an exhausted sigh as she clutched her newborn son. It had been a rough day.

 _She was awoken that morning by contractions. She had experienced preterm contractions over the last several weeks so she didn't think much of it. She wasn't due for another week and a half and she was just tired and grumpy and huge. She looked at the clock and realized her husband wouldn't be awake for another hour to go to work, she couldn't wait to have her baby, it would save her from mornings like this_.

 _She stood up and went to the bathroom to fully wake up and get started on the day. But as luck would have it, it wasn't going to be an easy day. Not at all. "Naru!" she exclaimed as she collected herself and ran out of the bathroom. "Damn it! Wake up, Oliver!"_

 _Naru poked his head up groggily as Mai held on hand on her hip and the other on her bulging stomach. "Good morning," he said slightly irritated. He wasn't supposed to be up for an hour._

 _"My water broke," she blurted. That was all it took to wake the young man up._

It was early evening by the time their son was born. Naru never let her hand go even for a moment throughout the day. Not that he had a choice, Mai has a death grip. To the nurses in the room, his face was unreadable, but his wife could see the relief in his eyes that the worst was over. They were both reluctant when the nurse took their son away to be cleaned and weighed. But soon they were reunited with the boy that fell asleep on Mai's chest the moment he was placed there.

"Have you two decided on a name?" the nurse asked as she came around with a clipboard. The married couple gave each other a look and the nurse understood. "I'll be back, then."

"You'd think nine months would be enough time to figure out a name," Mai said with a breath as she handed their sleeping son to Naru. Suddenly, he didn't seem so awkward holding an infant.

"To be fair, we both didn't know you were pregnant until you were almost three months in," Naru retorted, looking down at the red squishy face in his arms.

"Still, we've spent the last six months bickering about what to name him," Mai said with another breath, resting her head back. "We've debated naming him after your father, then after mine, even after Monk and Lin. We've looked up countless English and Japanese names we could use, hell, I even started looking into Chinese names!"

Naru unknowingly smiled as his wife continued her tangent and the infant grunted in his arms. He was so small. Were all newborns this tiny?

"You know, there's one name I'm a little surprised you haven't mentioned earlier," Mai said, bringing the young man from his thoughts to look at her curiously. She merely smiled. "What about naming him Eugene? I think he would like that."

There were very few times that Mai caught Naru off his guard, this was one of those times. As he gazed down at their son, he noticed the dark chocolate brown fuzz of hair on his head that must have come from Mai's side, he had the same nose and lips as his, but his eyes were too swollen to see the color of them yet. But he knew they would be blue like his. "I think so, too."

His voice sounded stiff and strained causing Mai to raise a brow as the man lowered his head. She noticed the trembling of his shoulders and suddenly understood. "Eugene Davis, Gene for short. Yep, I think we've finally settled on a name." She reached over and used a finger to stroke the babe's cheek.

"Davis-san? Have you decided on a name yet?" the nurse from before walked back in with her clipboard. "There are also several visitors outside wanting to see you-" She stopped short as she closed the door and saw the scene before her. She gave a soft and understanding look. "I'll have them wait another moment. But they would like to know if you've decided on a name yet."

"We have," Mai said as Naru kept his head down, but gave a curt nod. "Eugene A.J. Davis. You can let everyone know his name will be Gene."

* * *

 **Just like with what happened in the England Arc, I knew Luella would love Mai, but might need to warm up to her, I figured that deciding to name your son after your identical twin who died would obviously be done, but it wouldn't be an easy thing for Naru to do. I think I hit that nail on the head with this, especially since it was Mai's idea. I think that might have made it a little easier on him.**

 **Let know what you all think. Also, Dangerous Souls fans, I'm reaching the end of the current case and I'm wondering should I go immediately into the next one or have a post case chapter? What are your thoughts?**

 **Thanks!**


	26. Teabags

**So this was inspired by a writing prompt I found and luckily it didn't take very long to write seeing as I don't have much free time. Stay tuned for the note at the bottom with updates on when I will update! Enjoy!**

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26-Teabags

"Mai, come in here," Naru called with a not too pleased look on his face. He had had a long day at the office. Yasuhara and Ayami seemed to have decided that prank wars were the perfect way to pass the time in between cases. He damn near fired the two of them when he walked into the kitchenette to find it covered in shaving cream.

All he wanted to do was enjoy a nice cup of tea and work on his latest novel. Spend time with his family and put his kids to bed. Normal, mundane things. However, how the hell was he supposed to do that when there were no tea leaves in the container?

"What's up, Naru?" Mai asked as she walked into the kitchen. She was carrying the now empty plates of what was once dinner. She placed them in the sink and looked up curiously at her husband.

"I thought you said you bought tea," he said. His tone was that of annoyance and his face mimicked it perfectly. His wife resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Someone was having withdrawal symptoms.

Still, Naru held up the empty canister, clearly not in the mood to hear about his mood. "I did," she said heading to the pantry (where she did roll her eyes so Naru wouldn't see). She pulled out a small cardboard box and tossed it at the man across the room. He caught it and stared in bewilderment.

He opened the box and his expression turned to that of utter disgust. He stuck his hand in and pulled out a small, folded paper filter, stapled to a white string. He held it up and stared at it as though it were a cockroach. "What is this?" It took everything Mai had in her to not laugh in his face.

"It's called a teabag, Oliver," Mai answered with a smirk as she began washing the dishes. They heard the rushing on tiny feet as two small heads rounded the corner of the kitchen.

"Mama! Papa!" a little hazel eyed brunette exclaimed jumping up and down. "Can we play?"

"Daddy, you promised we would build my airplane!" said a little blue eyed boy who, aside from his dark brown hair, bore a striking resemblance to his father. "I have it all set up!"

Gene looked up at his father with pleading eyes while his three year old sister clung to their mother's leg. "Mommy and Daddy are having a discussion, guys," Mai said still working her sponge to the plates in the sink. "Go play in the living room and we'll be there in a few minutes with tea."

The little girl's face lit up and she nodded quickly, running to her brother and grabbing his arm to pull him along. "C'mon, Ji-Nii!"

"Ow! Mi-chan! Don't pull so hard!" Before the couple could even process the event, the children were out of the room.

Mai turned around to see her husband still holding up the teabag and still held his disapproving stare. She let out a breath and filled the kettle that was next to the sink and set it on the stove to boil. She pulled out a mug and placed it on the table. "You're giving our children teadust?" Naru asked as Mai went back to the dishes.

"I bought some fruit teas that they like and have no caffeine-" she paused and whipped her head around with a raised brow. "Did you just say 'teadust?'"

"It sure isn't tealeaves." At that Mai burst out laughing.

"I don't think 'Naru the Narcissist' is as fitting of a nickname for you anymore," she said after a breath. "Maybe we should get everyone to call you 'Drama Llama.'"

"Midori is still obsessed with that book?"

"Yeah, your mom sent her the whole series and they just came in, so she'll want you to read them all to her for bed. Twice." She finished putting the cleaned dishes on the drying rack and proceeded to fill the pots and pans with soapy water.

"First you Pavlov our son and now you're trying to poison our children with teadust." Mai rolled her eyes and continued to busy herself with cleaning the kitchen and drying and putting dishes away.

"It's not poison, Naru, it's the same thing you drink at work, just the cheaper version. I drank it for years and I'm fine." She looked up to see a peculiar look in her husband's eyes. "It was easier and cheaper to buy teabags and save my money for more important things. Like food and rent."

"I should have hired you sooner just because of that." Naru shook his head as the kettle was about to whistle and he took it off of the stove. "So why teadust now? Surely we can afford that 'luxury' as you seem to put it."

Mai's face lit up as she spun around and sprinted for her laptop that was on the counter. "I'm so glad you asked!" She quickly typed in her password and clicked here and there.

The man was slightly concerned. His wife was a little too excited about what she was going to show him. Anything that involved the amount of teabags she had purchased and the level of enthusiasm she was showing could not be anything good.

"We need new curtains in the kids' rooms so I found this cool one I can make on Pinterest!" She turned the computer around to show him a picture of a window that had hanging teabags in front of it. "We'll get simple white ones as well, but I think these will go great for decoration."

She walked back to the other counter where Naru had placed the kettle and quickly pulled out a few cups and tea bags. She poured the hot water over them and allowed them to steep.

"I still don't understand the need to poison them with watery dust." Such a drama king.

"The bags need to be used to give them color." Mai shrugged as she looked back at her computer. "See? The tea stains the bags and since I bought the fruit teas they'll be even more vibrant."

"Ayako warned me you would become a Pinterest addict," Naru mutted with a shake of his head.

"I am _not_ a Pinterest addict." Her hands were on her hips. And a frown was worn on her face.

"Mai, we now have mason jar vases. Our old vases were just fine."

"But they are cute and creative. And your children helped me with them." She gave a smug look and checked the steeping teas.

"What about those cookies, the caramel and coconut ones? They turned into such a mess."

"But they tasted great!"

"What about those bunny pancakes you made for Midori? She had nightmares about that thing for a week."

Mai pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes before relenting with a sigh. "That one was a spur of the moment idea and I didn't have the right fruit to make the face." She began to laugh. "Okay, that one was a bad idea, but the others weren't."

"How long are we going to have to deal with dust for this project?" Naru closed his wife's laptop and gave her a side look.

"Not much longer," she replied with a shrug pulling out a small container from the pantry. "I knew you were going to be snippy about teabags so I made sure that your tea had the loose leaves and everyone else drank from the bags. Another few days and I think I'll have enough." She opened the container to reveal dried used teabags.

Naru just shook his head and accepted his wife's antics as she handed him his mug of tea. He stared at it with disdain but took a sip nonetheless. He will never _ever_ admit it to her, but it definitely didn't taste as bad as he was making it seem.

* * *

"Oh no! This isn't right!" Mai groaned as she watched her project fall apart in front of her. It had been a week later and the children were in bed as she sat at the kitchen table trying to salvage what she could of the teabags.

"What's wrong?" Naru asked as he came out of his study. From what he could tell, the teabags were tied together almost like a mobile and for the most part looked like the picture his wife had showed him. "It looks right to me."

"Yeah, now that I have it flat on the table." She looked ready to pull her hair out. "But look." She raised the curtain up and Naru watched as it now became lopsided and some bags were heavier than others and were slipping out of their place. "I can't hang this up in their rooms!"

Naru smirked in amusement. He was in a much better mood now that the torturing of teadust had ceased and he had a decent cup of tea. He watched as Mai placed the ruined curtain down and looked like she might cry in her frustration. He walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"You are great at many things, Mai," he said in her ear and could almost hear her eyes roll. "Mother, wife, friend, psychic, cook, teamaker," he listed before giving her a slight squeeze. "But intricate crafts, not so much. You tried and that's all that matters."

"You're just glad that this didn't work so I won't have to buy teabags again," she scoffed, trying to step out of his grasp, but he wasn't ready to let go.

"That's just an added perk," he teased. "I'm just saying you should probably stick to the messy cookie recipes that taste better than they look."

"Maybe I will buy teabags again, you certainly deserve it," she teased back, giving him a side eye.

At that Naru sighed and let go of his wife and took a step back. He glanced at the laptop next to the curtain on the table. Something caught his eye. "Why don't you just do this one?" he asked leaning over and clicking on one of the pictures. "We'll buy white cotton curtains and you can dye them with tea."

Mai tilted her head as she looked at the craft on her screen. "I can probably use the fruit teas they like so much and get a nice color out of it," she muttered to herself as her husband smiled at her.

"This can wait until tomorrow," he decided shutting the laptop closed. Mai looked up at him with a raised brow.

"Is the Great Oliver Davis also going to call in a night early?" she asked with a smirk.

"Only if I have company."

* * *

 **I like the Drama Llama don't you? lol my godson loves those book and it just fit with Naru's tantrum.**

 **I apologize for my lack of updating recently, I've been hitting some blocks and now I'm currently enrolled in a couple accelerated classes for school which take up most of my time along with my new job. However, next week is the end of my semester and I'll be done two classes meaning I only have two classes left and more time on my hands.**

 **Don't expect an update on Dangerous Souls until November or another update on this fic until then too. But I have many ideas to come including a fic on how Mai reveals she's pregnant with Gene which I know you guys will love. Stay tuned and please review! :)**


	27. Cuddles

**So I got this idea from my cousin who has a son who's almost two and this happens to her constantly lol hope you enjoy and thank you guys for 100 reviews! I'm so happy! :) updates to come! Enjoy!**

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27-Cuddles

Oliver Davis is _not_ a cuddler.

At least, that's what his thought until a certain case when he was eighteen happened in which he went undercover with his petite assistant. "Undercover" literally and figuratively since they had to share a bed. He was always appalled each morning that he woke up with his arms wrapped around his "wife's" waist. Years later, he still wasn't sure if Mai was aware of the rather awkward situation he had woken up to each morning.

Of course, now that he was married and had a son, he was a bit more of a snuggler. Usually, this only occurred while in bed with his wife or if his son decided to curl up to him while he read a book on the couch. Aside from that, Naru was very much like a cat. Only liking to be touched when he wanted to be.

On this particular night, it was a rather quiet one. Naru was reading a book with Mai sitting next to him on the couch as she watched a movie on the television. A nearly two year old Gene was playing with his toy cars on the ground.

As the movie wore on, Naru could sense his wife's sleepiness starting to take over next to him. It had been a rainy day in October, its gloominess causing many people a case of sluggishness and Mai was no exception. She leaned into her husband's side, getting comfortable as he reached his arm to wrap around her shoulders, not taking his eyes off of his book as he did so. Just another quiet and peaceful night.

On the floor, Gene was busy with causing car accidents as they crashed together between his pudgy fingers. Oh how he loved the sound they made when they clanked together, and it was because of him. He did something! He wasn't too sure what he did but he did something! He brushed away his dark brown bangs that were starting to grow out and looked over his shoulder to show Mama and Papa. But what he saw made his deep blue eyes widen and narrow.

He puffed out his cheeks as he stood up and waddled to the couch where his mother was comfortably nestled into his father's side. "No!" he shouted, startling the couple on the couch. Mai jerked awake and sat upright while Naru pulled himself away from his book.

"Gene? What's wrong?" Mai asked, rubbing her face as she normally did when she woke up.

"No! No! No!" Gene exclaimed as he stomped and began to climb onto the couch. He certainly would _not_ have this.

He climbed in between his parents, forcing them apart and pushed Naru's arm away from Mai. He looked curiously at his son who latched on protectively over Mai.

"My Mama! Mine!" he shouted sending a rather dark look over to his father. Mai had to bite her lip at the resemblance they shared.

Naru's look quickly went from curious, to annoyed. Sure, Naru wasn't much of a cuddler, but Mai was the one to cuddle up to him, now he was the bad guy? So the two were held in a deadlock stare down and Mai couldn't help but laugh.

"You don't like Mama and Papa sitting like that?" she asked her son with an amused grin.

Gene turned to look at his mother and pointed to himself. "My Mama!" Mai continued to chuckle and wrap the boy in his arms and honestly, Naru was still annoyed.

The man gave his son another look as the boy continued to glare at him. "You do understand it took both of us to make you, right?" he asked, Mai playfully smacked his arms.

"Calm down, Naru," Mai chided. "Gene's just a little jealous and he comes by it honestly."

"He must get it from you," Naru said with a smirk.

"Pfft, you are _just_ as bad as me, don't even deny it." Mai rolled her eyes and rubbed her son's back. "You're just gonna have to learn to share."

And those words sparked an idea. Naru wrapped his arm back around Mai's shoulders and pulled her back into him along with little Gene. The boy in the middle held up his hand and glared at his father. "Mama mine!" he said about to push Naru away. Naru simply held a stern look.

"Yes, Mama is Gene's," he said and then he gave a small smile. "But Gene has to share with Papa."

Gene narrowed his eyes but nodded nonetheless, making his mother chuckle as he snuggled into her. They continued to watch the movie as Naru continued his book all snuggled close together.

Yes, just another quiet and peaceful night.

* * *

 **The case mentioned at the beginning is from the 11th case in my fic Dangerous Souls so if you want to read about it go check that out if you** **haven't. Hope you guys enjoyed and please review! :)**


	28. Never

**This just might be my favorite chapter ever to be honest. I apologize for any actual inaccuracies in Noll and Gene's adoption and heritage however I researched the basics and this is what I found out since the novels are not available where I live so I did't have more to go on. Luella's past is fictional as well as how she met Noll and Gene, but I think it fits. I hope you guys enjoy!**

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28-Never

Luella never got to hold Gene and Noll when they were babies.

They were seven when they were adopted from the U.S. Sure, she held the babies of her friends and colleagues. She even got to hold her niece when she was born, but since her sister ended up moving permanently to the U.S. she never really got to see them. Martin was an only child, so there were no small children on his side.

The couple had been married for several years before they began to try for a child. When Luella was thirty-two and suffered her third miscarriage, she was heartbroken and swore she would never try again. A year later, she and Martin went to Boston to visit her sister and niece as well as assist the American branch of SPR. That was when she ran into them.

They were identical in every way except for their clothes. They both had the same shaggy black hair, deep indigo eyes, flawless skin, and an odd sense of loneliness emanating from their features. They stared the woman up and down as she stopped in the middle of passing an alleyway. One leaned over to the other and whispered something in a language foreign to her and that was when Luella knew.

Luella was a researcher, she was just as fascinated with the paranormal as her husband, but she also had a bit of an upper hand. She had uncanny instincts. It wasn't like she was clairvoyant or anything, but when she felt strongly about something or someone, there was no changing her mind. Not that there was a need, seeing as she was never wrong.

So when she saw the two boys in the alleyway whisper to each other and take off, nearly knocking her over in the process, she knew she needed them. She knew they needed her too. Not because they were lonely even with each other, no they wanted a home. And she needed to give them just that. So she followed them. Sure enough, they ran straight for the local orphanage.

The following day, she talked Martin into checking out the place. He hadn't seen such determination and, well, hope, in his wife's eyes in more than a year so he did just that. After speaking with the Nuns who took care of the children, he too became interested in the young twins.

They had apparently been involved in odd happenings throughout the orphanage that last couple of years. Lights going out, objects moving, rapping sounds, you name it, they both seemed to be around and the only ones not completely freaked out.

They had learned that their mother was of Japanese decent, while their father was an Irish American who left the mother after bringing her over and learning of her pregnancy. She died in childbirth and left the twins in the care of the hospital until they were transferred to another orphanage a few towns over.

Then two years before, they had been brought over to this orphanage as the other was closed down. That's when the strange things started to happen. Martin decided he needed to meet these boys, much to the joy of his wife. The meeting was short, but soon preparations were being made to give the boys a permanent home.

Luella never got to hold them as babies.

But she did get to hug them as children. She coddled them, but knew when to be stern and reprimand them. She was a great mother and Martin hadn't seen her so happy in ages, he grinned everyday when he came home from work.

When Noll had the vision of Gene's death, the agony of a mother's cry would scar him for life. It was pure anguish, guilt, regret, pain, sadness, anger, hopelessness, there was just no _one_ word for the sound that came from the woman's mouth. It was also the only time he ever saw Martin shed a tear.

She may have never held him as an infant, but that didn't make him any less her baby.

Eventually, the pain had numbed to a dull throb that still hurt to talk about, but didn't feel like it would kill her anymore. Just in time for Noll's wedding. Luella loved Mai. She was the daughter she never had, and while she had initially didn't want her to take away her only baby left, Luella knew she had to let go.

Oh, she missed them terribly, and if she had it her way, they would both move to England and live in one of their guest rooms. But Noll was too independent for that. She was just happy that the couple both made an effort for weekly video chats and phone calls and frequent emails.

She cried when she found out Mai was pregnant. Tears of joy, of course. When they came to visit for a presentation Noll was doing for a friend of Martin's, Luella was the most excited. Feeling the baby kick and hearing his parents bicker about names, gave the woman a glimpse into the part of parenthood she missed out on. While she wished she hadn't, at least she would be a part of Mai's journey through it.

She cried again when she got the call from Madoka after Mai had delivered at the hospital. They named their son after Gene. They named their first child after Luella's baby. She swore in that moment she would hold that infant. He might not be her baby, but she knew deep down he was the closest she would ever get to holding Gene again.

She and Martin flew over and stayed for a couple of weeks over the Christmas holidays. She remembered Mai looking exhausted as she handed the infant to her. Luella had been sitting in an armchair as the child was handed to her and she was much calmer than she expected as she looked down at the boy.

 _"You know, I never got to hold Noll and Gene when they were this small,"_ she had said almost fondly. _"They were older when we adopted them."_

She kept her tears at bay as she mentally scanned the boy's image into her memory. Dark brown hair, from Mai's side, Noll's nose, blue eyes like his father, but they were shaped like his mother's. Yes she would forever remember this moment. Not because she got to hold her baby again. But because she got to hold her grandbaby.

It was hard to think about, but as it seemed, if she had never lost her baby when he was only sixteen, she wouldn't be holding this precious little thing now. She had gone through so much pain over the years, but it was all with reason.

If she had children of her own, she wouldn't have adopted Noll and Gene.

If Gene hadn't died, Noll might not have met Mai.

If Noll hadn't met Mai, she wouldn't be holding Baby Gene now.

It was with a heavy heart that she realized, there was a reason she never held them as babies.

She would never have this.

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 **Poor Luella, you went through a lot. I hope you guys enjoyed! Merry Christmas and Happy First Anniversary to The Haunt Continues! Please leave a review!**


	29. First Word

**I'm alive! I'm so sorry for the long delay major writer's block on top of some personal things that I will not get into here, but everything is fine. In the meantime enjoy this new chapter and stay tuned at the end for another note (not long don't worry lol)**

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29-First Word

"C'mon, Gene, " Mai pleaded as she pointed to herself. "Mama."

Now the drooling, dark chocolate haired, blue eyed nine month old sat on the floor in front of his mother with an interested look in his eyes. "Pa-pa."

Mai let her head fall and groaned with disappointment. She gave a pleading look to her son. "Gene, be serious." She pointed to his chest. "Gene." She pointed to herself. "Who am I? Ma-Ma?"

"Pa-Pa…" the little boy annunciated, with a bit of a spit spray. Not that Mai really minded, she had been covered with much worse than baby drool.

Mai slouched again in defeat. This back and forth had been going on for the better part of the day after they got home from visiting Naru at the office. Of course the infant didn't seem to mind the inner turmoil his mother seemed to go through. No, he had just learned to crawl, he was going to make use of his newfound mobility. Mai watched with a pout on her face and let out a sigh. "It's just not fair." She crossed her arms as she heard the front door open and close.

Mai glanced at the watch her husband had given her for her birthday a year ago. _He's early,_ she thought as she looked back up to see the man walk into the living room and place his briefcase on the chair nearby. "I'm home," he said in very much the same way he did everyday. Not much emotion in his tone, but reading his eyes, Mai knew he was happy to be back.

Gene heard his father's voice and crawled his way over to him. Naru knelt down to pick up the excited boy. The small smile the man wore holding his child would normally have swelled Mai's heart, but she was still a little bitter about the day's activities. When Naru looked up and saw the sour look on his wife's face, he raised a brow. "Everything okay?"

Mai let out a breath and marched over to the two boys. She poked her finger lightly on Gene's squishy torso. "Gene." She poked her own chest. "Ma-Ma."

Gene of course simply cocked his head to the side and pointed to himself. "Gleeblaskoosh," came out in his baby babble as he pointed to his mother and let out a similar sounding garble. Mai groaned and sunk her shoulders in defeat. To which Gene only laughed.

"Long day?" Nau asked, still unsure how to handle this situation.

"I really want to call him a little something that I shouldn't, but that's more so because I'm annoyed that he's trying to make a liar out of me." She ran her hands through her longer than normal hair (just above her shoulders).

"You haven't lied yet," Naru said with a shrug.

"I've been trying to get him to say Mama all day, he started to get the sounds right after we left the office, but as you can see…"

"He hasn't tried to say anything else, maybe he's not ready to talk yet."

"And that's how he's trying to make a liar out of me." She was met with a confused look from her husband. "It's not fair, I mean I know we both spend a lot of time with him, but I spend more time since I'm home more. So why can't he say Mama!"

"He might not be ready, a lot of babies don't say more than babble until they are at least a year," Naru said, trying to make Mai feel a little better. Reading those baby development books sometimes had their benefits.

"I was so close!" she pouted at Gene who giggled like mad. "But all he could say was Papa."

Naru perked up at that. Now he understood why Mai was close to hysterics about this, believe it or not she does have a competitive streak and like her husband she hates to lose. Maybe that was why Naru was having a hard time not laughing at the situation. "You can say Papa, now?" The corners of his lips twitched as he looked down at his son. He merely gave some more babble, thus proving Mai wrong again. "Well, even if he did, he's done now."

A glare was sent at the narcissist, nearly causing him laugh again. With a "humph," she brushed passed the two she loved unconditionally and headed for her room. "I'm taking a shower and no, you can't join me," she said, closing the door behind her.

Naru looked down at his son with mild amusement. "You've gotten us both in trouble with Mama," he said sitting the boy down on the ground like his mother had done not very long before. "Well, she wouldn't be like this if you didn't actually say anything, so here goes." He pointed to Gene. "Gene." He pointed to himself. "Papa."

Gene pointed to himself. "Gleeblaskoosh." Pointed at Naru. "Ma-Ma."

Naru narrowed his eyes a little, pointed at himself again. "Pa-Pa."

"Ma-Ma."

"You really are a little something I shouldn't say," Naru said with a nod that the boy mimicked.

* * *

 **Pretty much every parent has had a similar situation lol. The twins I nanny are saying names now and one of them I got to say everyones name and when I said "can you say (my name)?" she just looked up innocently and went "uh-uh" She can be a little shit sometimes but i love her lol.**

 **Anyway I want to know what are your favorite moments in the Haunt Continues? I have an idea for an upcoming chapter and would like to know which chapters I should highlight or reference in it. Thanks and please review!**


	30. Scream

**Hey guys! I'm alive! I'm sorry I haven't had that chance to update (to be honest I'm working on a few chapters for this fic but since they are connected it's been a bit of a struggle trying to put it all together, but you guys will love it I promise!) This chapter is inspired by some actual babysitting I've done as well as the comicstrip Baby Blues if you guys are parents or like the humor between parents and small children definitely check it out I've loved the comics since I was a kid. I also kind of went overboard with shoptalk in this one but it's sort of in Naru's perspective so I suppose that makes sense. Hope you enjoy!**

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30-Scream

It had been a long day at the office for Oliver Davis. Several very interesting cases had made their way through his door, three requiring rather immediate attention. He was debating splitting his team up amongst the most critical cases, but that would cut down on manpower for each case and potentially cause the cases to take too much time. His company in Tokyo had grown enough for him to feel confident enough to split his team in two, but three?

He decided that he needed to go home, sleep on it, probably ask his wife for her input. (Though he very much knew she would demand to help in any way she could. Which would actually be beneficial on the research aspect of each case). He also had requests from several universities to hold lectures on all sorts of topics. That was a job he knew Mai would have fun organizing.

Amongst his thoughts, a high pitched scream tore him from them as he climbed the stairs of his apartment complex. Something about the scream put all of his senses on high alert as he stopped in his tracks. _What the hell is that?_ He wondered as the scream ceased and he continued up the stairs to his floor.

Taking his time, he returned to figuring out how to best go about splitting up his team. He was sure that he and Lin could each run a case and if he partnered Monk and Yasuhara together for the third, he could ask John to come with him. Ayami would probably be best with Lin since she was still learning how to use warding magic. Now that would leave-

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

With a jolt, Oliver Davis was thrown out of his own head to the same shriek as before. It was louder now and somewhat familiar…

"Shit!" he cursed under his breath as he ran to the door of the apartment he shared with his family. He tried to turn the knob, but of course it was locked. Where did he put his key? Should he break down the door? Could he break down the door? Could he afford to fix the door if he broke it?

But something had to be wrong, why else would there be screaming coming from his home? Was someone hurt? Had someone broken in? Why did the screaming stop?

The ominous silence in the walkway in front of the apartment did not make him feel any better. Just as he found his key in his coat pocket-

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Now there was something else in the scream. Something Oliver wasn't sure he could place. He turned the knob and…

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A twenty month old Midori went zipping by the front door with her arms in the hair and her feet pounding the ground as though she weighed so much more than the twenty pounds that he did.

The pounding of her feet stopped as did her shrieking, only to start up again as she ran past the front door again. Confused, Naru walked in and removed his shoes. He shut the door behind him and looking into the living room he could see his nearly five year old son sitting on the couch with his hands clasped over his ears. "Papa, can you make her stop?" he pleaded with big blue eyes gazing up at his father.

Midori paid no mind to her father being home, no she was having way too much fun shrieking and probably making the neighbors think that she was being murdered. Gene, on the other hand, realizing that there was nothing more he could do, shoved a pillow over his head and smushed his face in the cushions. Now the question remained, where was Mai?

Upon further investigation, (not that much was needed, once he could see where the baby gate was up, he knew where Mai had gone), Naru found his wife in the kitchen. He placed his briefcase against the walkway and gingerly stepped over the gate, which had taken quite a bit of practice and several failed attempts landing him on the floor in the past.

"Oh good, you're home," she greeted, replacing the lid on her pot and giving her husband a kiss on the cheek. "Is Midori still screaming?"

"What do you mean is she?" Naru raised a brow.

"She's been at it since she woke up from her nap and I managed to tune it out," she said with a shrug as she grabbed the vegetables she had cut and slid them into the pan.

"You can tune that out?"

Mai looked sheepishly at her husband. "Is that bad?"

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Little feet stamped by the baby gate, while the dark chocolate haired boy dramatically leaned against the gate with his head and arms hanging on the kitchen side.

"And we haven't gotten any complaints from the neighbors?" Naru asked, looking from his son to his wife.

"We might soon, but it's Wednesday so most people are at work," Mai answered, returning to stir-frying the veggies.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" At that scream, Gene slid to the ground, rubbing his face into the fencing of the gate.

"Once we have her sit down for dinner, she should stop," Mai said confidently, before letting her face fall and pout. "I hope."

Well, Oliver Davis was never a fan of noise, always preferring to work in quiet, and he needed to discuss work with Mai. So quiet he would get, but how?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Naru carefully stepped over the gate, making sure to go around his son who hadn't moved. Now how could he get Midori to be quiet?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" A distraction was what he needed. But what could he use that would be more fun or important than screaming around the apartment?

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Seeing a baby doll lying on the floor near the television in the living room, Naru picked it up. Perhaps he could use this.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-hi Papa!" Midori stopped mid scream and looked up with pride at her father. "I skeam."

"Hi Midori," Naru said kneeling down to his toddler daughter. She immediately jumped into him and wrapped her little arms around his neck. "Did you have fun today?"

"I skeam, AAAAAAAAAHHH-" Midori had pulled her head back to scream as her father pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shhhhhh!" Naru held the doll the same way he held his own children when they were that small in his other arm. "Baby Chocho is sleeping, Midori."

The little girl's hazel eyes grew wide as she clasped her hands over her mouth. "Sowy, Chocho, I too woud."

"It's okay, see?" Naru gave the girl a soft smile and presented the doll to her. "She's still asleep, can you make sure she stays asleep until after dinner?"

"Yeah!" she shouted excitedly before smacking her hand to her mouth and whispering, "yeah!"

Naru gave her the doll and watched as she tiptoed to where the doll's crib was. She placed it in there and tiptoed back before lifting her arms up in the air and running again.

"aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh," her breathy attempt of a scream-slash-whisper nearly sent her mother into a fit of laughter when she ran by. Naru had pretty much accepted the fact that he would never understand children, but was content to just go with it because this was normal for their family.

"Impressive," Mai said with her arms crossed against her chest. Naru stood up only to have Gene clutch his leg.

"Thank you…" the boy whimpered, earning a chuckle out of both his parents.

"How long until dinner?" Naru asked, walking toward his wife with Gene still on his leg.

"I have nuggets in the oven for them and a veggie stir-fry for us that I'm really just waiting for the rice to cook, so about fifteen minutes, give or take? What's up?" she replied as her husband reached for his briefcase.

He pulled out several folders and handed them to her. "Mind going over these and I'll make sure dinner doesn't burn?"

"That many urgent cases? You weren't kidding when you said you guys had been busy, and it wasn't even lunch when I called you!" Mai's eyes grew wide as she took the pile of folders and Naru pried his son off of his leg and climbed into the kitchen.

"Only the top three require immediate action, however, I'm not sure how to split up the team, or to only tackle the first two and hope they end quickly enough." He took over stirring the vegetables as his wife opened the first three files on the counter.

Mai let out a whistle. "This one's all the way out in Suzu? The house has two kids and they say the water turns to blood whenever they turn on a faucet?" Naru simply nodded, though he knew she was still reading through the first file. "Imaginary friends telling the children rather dark stories, well, I see why this one is at the top of the pile."

She closed that file and went to the next one. "Ichikawa, this one is much closer, hmm…" Her eyes scanned the file. "A theater where the lead actress is being targeted. Don't tell me they're performing Yotsuya Kaidan?"

"They're not, however I did se the similarities to the theater case with Monk's sister." Naru turned the stove on low and continued stirring.

"You really are going to have to split everyone up into three teams," Mai said blowing out a breath and she thought. "Kiko and I can help with the researching aspect, but a lot of what you can do is going to depend on whether or not Ayako can come on one of these cases. Either way I would ask her to make as many charms as possible for each team. Hmm…" She reached for the pad of paper and a pen that were by the phone.

"Which case were you planning to go on?" she asked as she scribbled down some options. When he didn't answer, she poked her head back up. "You're thinking you're gonna be needed in Suzu, aren't you?"

"It's a serious case," was his answer, but he still glanced over his shoulder. "I'd rather not have to be eight hours away, however-"

"I get it, and to be honest, that case alone could really use the whole team or at least half of it. So…" She continued scribbling as the timer went off. "That would be the chicken nuggets, mind getting them?"

Naru did so and placed the tray on the side of the stove that didn't have pots and pans cooking. Meanwhile, Mai seemed to have finished her list. "The case in Tokyo is pretty simple, it looks like someone is just placing a hex on the construction crew. You, Monk, and Madoka should be able to handle that since Chao will be in school most of the day. Monk can also help reverse whatever the hex may be or exorcise the spirit if there is one involved." She came over to the stove and check the pot with the rice and deemed it finished after fluffing it. She then turned off the stove and went to grab plates.

"The theater case I think John and Masako will be good with Setsuko and Ayako if she can make it. That leaves Lin with Yasuhara, Arata, and Ayami, like I said get Ayako to make a ton of charms. Lin can do a survey of the activity while the rest research the property. He can make the judgment call to bring in John or Monk, but since the construction case and theater case are not that far from each other, even if one isn't finished one of them can bounce back and forth." Before long the food was served and the table was set.

Mai was opening the baby gate as she looked back at Naru. "And with kids being involved Ayami will definitely be a help in figuring out what's going on with their imaginary friends. Anyway, that's just how I would break up the team, if you wanted to just do two, I say the Suzu case and the construction case should be at the same time and then the team still home will go over to Ichikawa for the theater-"

"DIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEERRRRRRRR!" Gene shouted as he came running into the kitchen followed by a not so happy Midori.

"Ji-Nii! Chocho's sweeping!" The girl stomped her foot much to the amusement of her parents.

"We'll continue this later," Mai decided with a wink at her husband as she picked up her daughter. "Come here, Mi-chan, Chocho can sleep while we have dinner."

"Okay," Midori reluctantly agreed as she was strapped into her highchair.

"You definitely make some good points," Naru commented as he sat down with the list Mai had made. "I'll discuss it with Lin and see if we can make this happen or at least try. We also have been asked to speak about possession, psychometry, clairvoyance, and how to gather credible evidence at several universities."

Mai sat down as Gene climbed into his chair and dug into his food. "We haven't done a lecture since Midori was born," she said as she stirred her vegetables and rice together. "If you give me the info I'm sure I could get that set up and figure who would be best to take with us."

"I was hoping you would," Naru said with a smile as he took a bite.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The scream startled everyone at the table as they all turned to the toddler. "Midori! What's wrong!" Mai exclaimed, her heart in her throat.

"Chocho awake, I skeam now-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The couple looked at each other and then to their son who clasped his hands over his ears and put his head on his plate of nuggets. He came up with one in his mouth. "I'm hungry," he said with his mouth full.

The couple didn't know whether to laugh or groan.

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 **I occasionally babysit in the mornings for a family of twins and keep in mind it was 8 in the morning and the little girl decides she needs to run back and forth from the play room through the living room while screaming at the top of her lungs. Luckily, I actually found it hilarious and started recording her to show their parents. It only went on for like twenty minutes not like Midori in this case where she was going on hours lol. Hopefully I will have Dangerous Souls updated soon and have a case for the Haunt Continues as well. Hope you guys enjoyed and please leave a review! :D**


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